Tennessee: ACLU Wins Battle Over Blocked LGBT Websites In Public Schools

The ACLU has forced the Tennessee public school system to stop blocking educational LGBT websites.

Dozens of Tennessee schools have restored access to online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, just over two weeks after the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against two Tennessee school districts for unconstitutionally blocking student access to such sites. The company that provides Internet filtering software to as many as 107 Tennessee schools has adjusted the software to allow access to a variety of educational and political LGBT Web sites that were blocked before the lawsuit was filed. "All we ever wanted was to be able to get information out about LGBT issues, like what our legal rights are or what scholarships are available for LGBT students, so I'm really happy that the schools are finally making our Web access fair and balanced," said Bryanna Shelton, a 16-year-old student at Fulton High School in Knoxville and a plaintiff in the case. "These Web sites were never something dirty or inappropriate in any way and shouldn't ever have been treated like they were."

The ACLU reports that the company that makes the blocking software has also unblocked the public school systems of Indiana.