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Fossey, Richard, Todd A. DeMitchell, and Suzanne Eckes, . Sexual Orientation, Public Schools, and the Law. Dayton, Ohio, Education Law Association (2007).

This short monograph examines leading cases concerning the rights of GLBT students to be free from harassment, the right to recognition under the Equal Access Act, First Amendment issues, and several curricular and programmatic issues. It includes a chapter with suggestions for school districts to protect students’ rights while avoiding litigation.

More on: education, Equal Access Act, schools

Hatami, Sheila, and David Zwerin, Educating the Masses: Expanding Title VII to Include Sexual Orientation in the Education Arena. 25 Hofstra Lab. & Emp. L.J. 311-354 (2007).

While courts--including the U.S. Supreme Court--have construed Title VII's "because of sex" language to include protections not explicit in the language of the statute, they have not exercised this same generosity to cover discrimination abased on sexual orientation. This reticence, seen by comparing the cases of Rene v. MGM Grand, 305 F.3d 1061 (9th Cir. 2002), and Nichols v. Azteca Restaurant Enterprises, 256 F.3d 864 (9th Cir. 2001), results in the line between gender stereotyping, which is prohibited, and sexual orientation discrimination, which is not, becoming "so thin that the distinction is confusing, unworkable, and must be wholly abandoned." These authors assert that the time has come to change this shortfall especially in the context of education.

LexisNexis | Westlaw | Hofstra Labor & Employ. L.J. (free)

More on: gender stereotypes, Hatami, Nichols, Rene, Title VII

Symposium, Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Military Recruitment and Legal Education. 57 J. Legal Educ. 159-194 (2007).

This collection of four pieces was originally presented as an AALS Workshop on the Solomon Amendment in the aftermath of Rumsfeld v. FAIR, 547 U.S. 47 (2006). Martha Ertman begins with a brief introduction to the issue. Joan Schaffner next uses events at the George Washington University Law School to ask "To what extent should student organizations be bound by the regulations that govern the GW placement office regarding military recruitment?" She believes that the "student interest in equal protection outweighs the student interest in employment," and that the FAIR decision "requires that law schools provide equal access but not equal treatment." James G. Leipold, Executive Director of NALP, reports results of a survey of law school responses, and offers three suggestions "for what law schools can and should do." Finally, the most personal account comes from Shalanda H. Baker, who tells of her expulsion from the military under DADT and being ordered to repay the costs of her Air Force Academy education.

HeinOnline | Westlaw |

More on: DADT, FAIR, George Washington University Law School, Solomon amendment