High School Principal Resigns Over Equal Access Act Requirement

In Irmo, South Carolina, Irmo High School Principal Eddie Walker says he will resign effective at the end of the 2008-09 school year after the school district told him to allow the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance chapter at the school. WIS-TV reports school district attorneys determined that under the federal Equal Access Act, either the club must be permitted or all non-curricular organizations would need to be banned. In a letter (full text) announcing his resignation, Walker said: "My decision to resign is a personal choice based on my professional beliefs and religious convictions. I have prayed about the decision for a period of time and I have a peace about it.... I bear no malice towards anyone involved. If the people involved at the district level had chosen not to allow the club to form I am sure the district would have been sued and ... in all likelihood ... would have lost."