(Cleveland, Georgia) A battle over the formation of a Gay Straight 
Alliance at White County High School that has raged on for nearly two years officially ended on Wednesday with the signing of an agreement that requires that the school district will implement an anti-bully program. 
 
It also must provide faculty with annual training sessions on how to deal with and prevent anti-gay harassment. In addition it is understood that the school district will pay about $170,000 in legal fees to the American Civil Liberties Union which represented LGBT students in the case. 
 
"I'm just so happy this is all over and that our school is doing the right thing,” said Charlene Hammersen, one of the founders of the club, Peers Rising In Diverse Education (PRIDE). 
 
"It's taken almost two years to get here, but we're as determined as we've always been to promote diversity and fight harassment against gay students at our school. This is really great for every student that goes to White County High.
 
In July a federal judge ruled that the high school must allow students in the gay-straight alliance club to meet on campus.

 
U-S District Court Judge William C. O'Kelley said that the school cannot deny the club equal access or a fair opportunity to conduct meetings on school premises during non- instructional time. 
 
O'Kelley said that school officials had violated the Federal Equal Access Act by barring the group from meeting on campus, while allowing other non-curricular clubs to do so. 
 
His ruling also said that the school cannot discriminate against student groups on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical or other content of their speech. 
 
In February 2005 students were told they would be allowed to organize the Gay-Straight Alliance, which later became Peers Rising In Diversity Education, PRIDE. 
 
About two weeks later about 250 angry parents attended a White County  school board meeting to protest the club and the board decided to ban all non-academic clubs. 
 
The move staved off a threatened suit by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the students, but when some of the non-academic clubs began holding meetings on school property and have their meetings promoted during morning announcements the ACLU filed the federal discrimination suit. 
 
"This is a tremendous victory for everyone involved in the case, and for all students at White County High School ,” said James Esseks, Litigation Director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. 
 
"The Equal Access Act guarantees the rights of students to form all kinds of clubs from GSA's to religious clubs and students at White County High School now know they can exercise that right.” 
 
The mother of another co-founder of the club hailed the settlement. 
 
“Throughout the course of this lawsuit I've only wanted what every parent wants for my children to be able to go to school in an environment that's safe,” said Savannah Pacer, whose daughter Kerry, who has since graduated from high school, was the founding president of PRIDE - her other daughter Lindsay is also a member of the club. 
 
"I'm so proud of my daughters for their role in changing hearts and minds, and for helping bring about this settlement, which is a good thing for the whole school community. This is a happy day for all of us," Pacer said. 
 
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