Suit claims school officials failed to protect gay student

Sandra Chereb

Friday, Jan. 28, 2000 | 4:57 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - A former high school student sued Washoe County school officials in federal court Friday, claiming they failed to stop verbal and physical harassment inflicted by classmates because he is gay.

Derek Henkle alleged school officials denied him equal protections because of his sexual orientation and denied him free speech rights by allegedly urging him to hide his sexual orientation.

The suit also makes claims of negligence and infliction of emotional distress in seeking unspecified damages.

Henkle's suit, filed in U.S. District Court here, is being handled by the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a New York-based gay rights organization. It seeks unspecified damages.

Named as defendants are Ross Gregory, principal at Galena High School; Denise Hausauer, Galena assistant vice principal; Loretta Rende, former Galena English teacher; Joe Anastasio, former district student service director; Bob Floyd, retired Washoe High School principal; Serena Robb, Wooster High principal; and Arnel Ramilo and Glen Selby, campus police officers.

School district officials had no immediate comment.

"We haven't been served with anything yet and until we do, obviously we can't comment on the specifics," district spokesman Steve Mulvenon said.

Jon W. Davidson, a Lambda attorney in Los Angeles, said school officials had a responsibility to protect Henkle.

"These school officials discriminated against Derek in how they handled his complaints of really horrific harassment, assaults, intimidation and discrimination that he was suffering at the hands of other students," Davidson said during a conference call with reporters.

"Instead, they treated him as the problem."

Henkle, now 19 and living in Atlanta, said he was forced to quit school here two years ago because of the intimidation. He eventually received a high-school equivalency certificate but said he feels cheated out of a diploma and educational and career opportunities.

"I was shuffled around from school to school when things got so bad at Galena they couldn't protect me," Henkle said during the conference call.

Henkle described his school days as a "daily nightmare."

He recalled one instance at Galena where he said a group of students surrounded him in the parking lot, tried to lasso him with a rope and threatened to drag him down a highway.

Henkle said his complaints to administrators were ignored.

At Wooster High, Henkle said he was beaten in a parking lot while two campus police officers looked on.

At Washoe High, Davidson said the principal repeatedly told Henkle not to tell people he was gay.

"If other students try to harass or abuse students who are out, the solution is not to tell lesbians and gay students to go back in the closet," Davidson said.