By EMERSON CLARRIDGE
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Jan 15, 2010 @ 07:48 PM
Last update Jan 16, 2010 @ 01:35 PM
MOHAWK — The U.S. Justice Department intervention in the civil case of a former Mohawk Central School District student could lead to a broader interpretation of a federal law that prohibits gender discrimination by applying it to the harassment of a gay male, an attorney in the case said Friday night.
The 14-year-old openly gay student, Jacob, who once attended Gregory B. Jarvis Junior/Senior High School, alleges the district failed to stop other students and a teacher from bullying him because of his sexual orientation.
The federal involvement represents a significant shift for the Justice Department under the Obama administration, the New York Civil Liberties Union lawyer said.