Student Punished for Anti-Gay Views Denied Request to Return to School

December 31, 2011

A counseling student put on probation after saying she disagreed with homosexuality will not be returning to Augusta State University while she fights against the school's attempt to make her complete a remediation plan to change her views, WORLD News Service reports. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in early December denied Jennifer Keeton's request to complete her studies while her case works its way through the courts. In July 2010, she filed suit against the university, arguing her First Amendment rights were violated when administrators put her on academic probation for saying she wanted to work with conversion therapy -- helping clients stop living a gay lifestyle. The school also required Keeton to complete a "remediation plan" -- going to gay pride events, attending sensitivity training and writing monthly reflection papers -- which she declined. She has requested a jury trial, but no date has been set.