K12 groups protect open membership policies.

K12 groups protect open membership policies. ON MARCH 15, THE NATIONAL School Boards Association (NSBA NSBA National School Boards AssociationNSBA National Small Business AssociationNSBA Nebraska State Bar AssociationNSBA National Snaffle Bit AssociationNSBA National Steel Bridge AllianceNSBA North Saskatoon Business Association (Canada)) andthree other education organizations each filed amicus curiae briefs witha Supreme Court case that discusses the right of a public school m denyrecognition m a student organization that does not comply with theschool's open membership policies. An amicus curiae brief Noun 1. amicus curiae brief - a brief presented by someone interested in influencing the outcome of a lawsuit but who is not a party to itbrief, legal brief - a document stating the facts and points of law of a client's case , or"friend of the court" brief, is a document volunteered by anoutside party that contains additional information on an aspect of thecase to assist in its ruling. Christian Legal Society The Christian Legal Society (CLS), founded in 1961, is a nonprofit organization of lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students. The group's missions are to promote high ethical standards within the legal profession, to support its members' commitment to Christian professional lives, of the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). HastingsCollege of Law v. Martinez involves the Christian Legal Society (CLS (Common Language Specification) The structure and syntax of .NET and CLI programming languages. See .NET. ), anationwide organization of Christian lawyers and law students, and theUniversity of California Hastings College of Law, a public institution.In 2004, Hastings' CLS chapter rewrote their bylaws banningpotential members who were homosexual or did not agree with the CLSStatement of Faith. The college argued that public dollars couldn'tsupport a student group, such as CLS, without an open membership policy,and CLS filed suit against the college stating the college violated itsFirst Amendment rights. NSBA and the others that filed briefs, including the School SocialWork Association of America, the National Association of SecondarySchool Principals and the California School Boards Association, believethe case has the potential to impact public schools if the rulingdeclares no institutions can apply nondiscrimination policies. The precedent set is the 1969 case, Tinker v. Des Moines. In theirdecision, the Supreme Court ruled that a student's First Amendmentrights of freedom of speech were protected within a school. "The Supreme Court has said students don't leave theirrights at the schoolhouse door," says Francisco Negron, generalcounsel at NSBA. "But, it has also said the school setting isspecial. Those rights are to be balanced by the mission of the school toeducate. Nondiscrimination policies ultimately empower the school toteach children and make sure all children are learning in a safeenvironment." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The organizations hold firm that open membership policies forextracurricular activities are critical for a student's academicachievement, as well as the socialization that develops from theirinvolvement. "Schools are teaching kids cultural values, fairness andintegrity," says Nick Flanery, senior director for leadership,program and services at NASSP NASSP National Association of Secondary School PrincipalsNASSP North American Society of Social Philosophy . "We have a responsibility to preparekids to become citizens in this world." The district court rejected CLS's claims and ruled in favor ofLeo Martinez, acting chancellor and dean of UC Hastings College of Law,as did the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California in 2009. OnMay 5, 2009, CLS filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking areversal of the Ninth Circuit's decision against CLS. Oralarguments for the Supreme Court case began April 19. NSBA and its allies hope to see the court narrow its ruling so asnot to impact public school districts.