Click HereApr 17, 4:25 PM EDT
Calif. School Challenges Gay Student Law
By MASON STOCKSTILL
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- As an openly lesbian high school student, Mattye Dane had classmates call her names, threaten violence and throw things at her in hallways. But her complaints were brushed aside by teachers, so the 16-year-old dropped out.
"Every school I've been to, I've experienced problems," Dane says.
Such treatment inspired a 1999 California law requiring schools to protect students from discrimination based on sexual orientation or perceived gender. Similar laws have been adopted in about 10 other states.
But in conservative Orange County, one school district has refused to incorporate the rule into its own education code, saying the measure is immoral and promotes transsexuality. The refusal has prompted state officials to consider withholding millions of dollars in funding for the Westminster district.
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