Trustees Debate Policy Allowing Gay Support Group : Education: Huntington Beach Union School District board will decide next month whether to change equal access rule. On-campus meetings sparked controversy.

Following a heated and emotional meeting this week over a gay support group at Fountain Valley High School, Huntington Beach Union High School District trustees decided to vote in January whether to keep, eliminate or modify a policy that allows the group to meet on campus.

The district’s equal access policy, in effect since 1990, allows groups that are not related to the curriculum to meet on campus.

Debate has ignited over whether a gay support group called the Fountain Valley High School Student Alliance should be allowed to use a classroom.

After three hours of testimony and board discussion, trustees voted 4 to 1 Tuesday night to place the policy issue on their agenda for the Jan. 11 meeting.

Of the more than 200 people who turned out for Tuesday’s meeting, 47 parents, students, teachers, gay rights activists and others--with viewpoints about evenly divided--addressed the board on the issue.

Trustee Bonnie Castrey, who cast the opposing vote, said she believes the policy should remain as it is.

Castrey, who voted in favor of the policy in 1990, said at the time that she was persuaded by members of student religious organizations that they should be allowed to meet on campus because service groups, such as the Key Club and Red Cross Club, were already permitted to use classrooms.

“I believe today we should continue our policy because of the impact it would have on the many groups of students involved in activities that are not necessarily curricular-based,” Castrey said in an interview Wednesday.

District officials said abolishing the equal access policy would affect not only the student alliance but about 32 other student groups at the district’s six high schools, including religious groups, service groups and clubs such as the Ski Club.

Trustee Bonnie Bruce, who was elected president of the board Tuesday night, said after the meeting, “I think the board needs to uphold the policy we have or do away with the policy, realizing it affects many groups on campus, or see if there are some modifications within the policy that are legal.”

Attorney David C. Larsen, the district’s legal counsel, said that any changes to the district’s equal access policy must ensure that all student groups are treated “equally and uniformly.”

Trustee Dirk Voss said that the policy should be eliminated because it is “opening up a can of worms.”

Voss said he is opposed to “any sexually oriented group” meeting on a high school campus.

The Board of Trustees approved the equal access policy in 1990. Under the policy, groups meeting on campus must abide by certain conditions: The gathering must be voluntary and initiated by students; it cannot be sponsored by the school or government; school or government employees who attend religious meetings may not participate in the proceedings; the meeting must not interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities; people who do not attend the school may not “direct, conduct, control or regularly attend” activities of student groups.

Four of Orange County’s 27 school districts have not passed an equal access policy. Consequently, no student groups there are allowed to meet on campus for non-school-related reasons. Those districts are Saddleback, Irvine, Tustin and Capistrano unified.