In Brief

Staff Reports

Grad Student Who Refused To Honour Counseling Course Requirements Files Appeal

Jennifer Keeton via Facebook

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- A 24 year old Georgia graduate student who had sued Augusta State University in July of 2010, in a battle over graduate programme requirements and her stated 'Christian' beliefs regarding the counseling of LGBTQ persons, has petitioned the U. S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to keep the university from expelling her.

Jennifer Keeton, who is represented by the Scottsdale, Arizona based Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom, contends that "A public university student shouldn’t be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith, but that’s exactly what’s happening here," David French, senior counsel for the defense fund, said in a news release. "Abandoning one’s own religious beliefs should not be a precondition at a public university for obtaining a degree."

Keeton was pursuing her master’s degree in counseling at Augusta State, however after learning of her strongly held beliefs, faculty members allegedly assailed Keeton’s beliefs as "inconsistent with the counseling profession" and according to the ADF Lawsuit, "expressed suspicion over “Jen’s ability to be a multiculturally competent counselor, particularly with regard to working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (GLBTQ) populations.”

The university maintains that it must hold its counseling graduate students “to the core principles of the American Counseling Association and the American School Counselor Association, which defines the roles and responsibilities of professional counselors in its code of ethics. The code is included in the curriculum of the counseling education program, which states that counselors in training have the same responsibility as professional counselors to understand and follow the ACA Code of Ethics. The faculty identifies Miss Keeton’s views as indicative of her improper professional disposition to persons of such populations.”

Augusta State University spokeswoman Kathy Schofe told LGBTQNation that the university had tried to work with Keeton, suggesting she take diversity sensitivity workshops and attend the local Augusta LGBTQ Pride parade, but Keeton refused and declined to participate claiming the university's "demands" violated her First Amendment rights.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Keeton has already been rebuffed by the courts. Earlier this year, a U.S. district judge ruled in the university’s favor.

In supporting Augusta State in its actions, the judge wrote, “The record suggests, and the testimony at the hearing bolsters, the Plan was imposed because Plaintiff exhibited an inability to counsel in a professionally ethical manner – that is, an inability to resist imposing her moral viewpoint on counselees – in violation of the ACA Code of Ethics.”

A classmate testified that Keeton said she would be compelled by her beliefs to tell gay or lesbian counseling clients that their behaviors were morally wrong and must be changed.

Weak anti-bullying bill passes Michigan Senate without religious exemption

LANSING, MICHIGAN -- The Michigan Senate today passed House Bill 4163 by a vote of 35-2. After over a decade of political delays, the legislature has finally moved a weak version of the anti-bullying bill that does not enumerate the reasons that kids are most often targeted and doesn't have statewide reporting requirements. School safety advocates say that the bill doesn’t go far enough to protect students from harassment, violence and bullying. The bill now moves on to the Governor.

“We’re thrilled that we were able to eliminate the destructive ‘license to bully’ that the Senate first approved in October. National outrage provoked by the last-minute substitution to allow bullying based on religious beliefs is a clear indicator that our Senate majority is out of touch with the voters.” said Emily Dievendorf, Director of Policy for Equality Michigan.

“That being said, we’re disappointed by the weak version of the bill passed today. Directed by the biases of a few, our Senate missed another opportunity to do right by our kids. Today’s bill will do little to stem the tide of bullying because it doesn’t enumerate commonly targeted characteristics. Case studies have found that school employees are unlikely to recognize and report incidents when bias bullying is not placed deliberately on their radar. Both Oregon and Washington passed weak bills like this one and had to go back and revise them years later when data showed the initial bills had failed. This kind of delay is not an acceptable response to Michigan's bullying crisis.”  Dievendorf added, “I appreciate the effort that many Democrats put forth, including Senator Glenn Anderson, in pushing for the strong and effective bill that our kids deserve. We will continue to advocate for improved legislation and encourage school districts to adopt robust local policies. Students, parents and voters shouldn’t settle for anything less.”