Back on April 19th, I first brought you word of the suspension of Tennessee high school student Curtis Walsh.

What ensued was a few posts spread out over the course of a few days, detailing Curtis’ suspension from David Crockett High School.

Now, the American Civil Liberties Union Southeastern LGBT Civil Rights Project Staff Attorney Christine Sun has sent a letter explaining the well-settled law on students’ first amendment free speech and expression rights and schools’ obligations to protect students (PDF) to the Washington County School System.

The letter was sent to the system’s director, Grant A. Rowland, Jr. and states, in part:

In sum, school officials may not censor students out of a desire to avoid controversy or as a means of quelling a disruptive reaction to student speech. Nor may school officials treat students differently on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. We request that 1) Principal Marable immediately apologize to Curtis, his mother, and the other students whom he censored; and 2) that you, as Director of Schools, inform the school community, including administrators, teachers, and students, that school officials must respect and enforce the free speech and equal protection rights of LGBT students as set forth in this letter. We also request that your directive be in writing and issued at the beginning of school year 2007-2008.

No word yet on a response from Schools Director Grant Rowland or David Crockett Principal Henry Marable, but both Curtis and his mother had statements in an article published at TimesNews.net:

“I just wanted to do something positive about the harassment I’ve had to deal with every day at this school,” said Curtis Walsh, a senior who says that he has been a frequent target of anti-gay harassment at the school. “I’m graduating in a few days, but I want things to be better for future gay students than they were for me. It’s pretty ironic that my principal decided to silence me for taking part in a protest in which I was planning to be silent all day.”

…

“I’m really proud of my son for wanting to do something so other students don’t have to suffer the kind of harassment he’s had to endure at school for all these years,” said Zina Owens, Walsh’s mother. “Where was all this concern about harassment when other students were calling Curtis names and threatening him every day? Why should he be punished for something other students might do? That doesn’t make any sense at all.”

Technorati Tags: Curtis Walsh, Zina Owens, Henry Marable, Johnson City, David Crockett High School, Washington County, TimesNews.com, Tennessee, Day of Silence, Christine Sun, ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union