Arne Duncan, head of the Chicago Public Schools system, could be asked next year to support a school specifically for gay and bullied youth. (Photo by AP)
RELATED STORIES Police Beat La. serial killer confesses to strangling 23 men Police Beat Md. man pleads guilty to ’74 gay murder, gets 3 years World View Gay filmmaker Tom Gustafson revisits Shakespeare in 'Were the World Mine' Gay student groups struggle in north Ga Two new clubs spark protests; state weighs rules for participation
MOST VIEWED Local: A Beatle in Piedmont Park National News: Obama cheered at Pride celebration Local: Judge: Trans lawsuit against Ga. lawmakers can continue Feature: Tough as nails National News: Gay groups back suit against marriage ban

HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS

Nov 28, 2008  |  By: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS  | COMMENTS |   |  

CHICAGO (AP) — Backers of a proposed high school touted as a haven for gay and bullied youth have pulled their proposal, saying they wanted to spend another year to finalize their plans.

Under mounting pressure from ministers and gay activists alike, Social Justice Solidarity High School planners had already changed the school’s name and focus to create a school that would be one of the nation’s largest to serve any students who have fallen victim to bullying and harassment.

The plan — pulled Nov. 18, hours before a scheduled vote on its creation — also was a less explicitly gay version of a plan first presented to Chicago’s board of education in October by schools chief Arne Duncan. The school’s intended start date remains 2010, planners said.

“The proposal has changed since the Oct. 8 planning hearing, and the design team is taking an additional year to finalize the proposal,” the design team said in a statement released by Chicago Public Schools.

The original plan was for the Social Justice High School: Pride Campus to open in 2010 and eventually serve 600 students, about half of whom were expected to identify as gay. The newer Solidarity plan had the same timeline and enrollment goals, but a different mission.