An Alabama-based organization sent a letter (pdf) to Jefferson County High School this week, demanding that school officials allow students to openly admit their sexual orientation and express support for non-heterosexual classmates.
The Southern Poverty Law Center sent the letter on behalf of Jefferson County senior Hannah Bradley in response to an incident a couple of weeks ago.
Bradley says she and other students wore small name tags stating their sexual orientation on October 11, National Coming Out Day, to protest anti-gay bullying. Bradley says school officials forced her and other students to remove the name tags.
The Southern Poverty Law Center says that is a violation of the first and 14th amendment rights of those students.
The letter warns school officials to confirm in writing by October 29 that they will stop censoring student expression, or face a federal lawsuit.