Harper

I. Factual Background1

Poway High School (“the School”) has had a history of conflict among its

students over issues of sexual orientation. In 2003, the School permitted a student

group called the Gay-Straight Alliance to hold a “Day of Silence” at the School

which, in the words of an Assistant Principal, is intended to “teach tolerance of

others, particularly those of a different sexual orientation.”2 During the days

surrounding the 2003 “Day of Silence,”3 a series of incidents and altercations

occurred on the school campus as a result of anti-homosexual comments that were

made by students. One such confrontation required the Principal to separate

students physically. According to David LeMaster, a teacher at Poway, several

students were suspended as a result of these conflicts. Moreover, a week or so

after the “Day of Silence,” a group of heterosexual students informally organized a

1 These background facts are based on the limited record before us which includes five declarations by school officials, and declarations from Harper, his father, Ron Harper, and a fellow student, Joel Rhine. 2 In his complaint, Harper alleges that he believes “the true purpose” of the…