An investigation by an outside lawyer hired by the school found that Twin Peaks Charter Academy didn’t discriminate in blocking its valedictorian from giving his graduation speech in May.
The Longmont charter school has come under fire from advocates and U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, for preventing valedictorian Evan Young, 18, from giving a graduation speech in which he planned to out himself as gay.
Additionally, Young and his father have alleged that the man who made that decision, since-departed school principal BJ Buchmann, also outed Young to his parents.
Attorney William Bethke, who was hired by the Twin Peaks board, wrote in his 24-page report that schools can legally “exercise editorial control” over graduation speeches as long as the school’s action is “reasonably related to pedagogical concerns.” Those concerns may include “discipline, courtesy and respect for authority.”
On the issue of outing Young to his parents, Bethke wrote that Buchmann did not violate Young’s privacy because Young intended to publicly disclose that he was gay in his graduation speech.
Bethke wrote that neither Young nor Buchmann appear to have acted out of “malice or ill-will,” but both should “take some ownership” for a breakdown in communication.
Young, he wrote, “repeatedly evaded conversations that might have clarified the situation,” while Buchmann lost “the trust that might have made the student more willing to engage.”
“The resulting confusion was genuine and, with the benefit of hindsight, understandable,” Bethke wrote. “It is not, however, well understood or credibly explained as acts of discrimination.”
Bethke noted that Buchmann initially took issue with a draft of Young’s graduation speech because of its “inappropriate and potentially insulting humor.”
Examples given included a story about unsuccessfully asking out a female classmate that named the classmate, as well as a story about only reading the summaries of assigned books and not understanding the purpose of the study of literature.
Buchmann also was “distinctly uncomfortable” with Young coming out as gay through his speech, which may have made the student feel rejected by a person he trusted, Bethke wrote.
Young had shared the draft of speech with the principal online through Google Docs and, after a conversation with Buchmann, continued to make revisions to the speech in that format.
Buchmann, however, didn’t realize revisions were being made, Bethke wrote.
Young avoided the principal’s repeated attempts to talk to him about the speech, Bethke noted, before finally hand-delivering a note outlining his unwillingness to change the part of his speech in which he came out as gay.
“The valedictorian understandably believed he was communicating his unwillingness to change only one part of his speech,” Bethke wrote. “But the principal understandably believed the valedictorian was refusing or procrastinating in changing his speech.”
Bethke interviewed Buchmann, Buchmann’s assistant, the Twin Peaks dean of students, Evan Young’s parents and a former Twin Peaks teacher. Young preferred not to be interviewed, Bethke said.
In a letter sent to the school community, the Twin Peaks board wrote that “The report confirms that Mr. Buchmann’s decision to bar the student from delivering a valedictorian speech at commencement was due to the student’s failure to submit an appropriate speech for the event and was not an act of unlawful discrimination.”
The letter goes on to say that Buchmann “exercised lawful editorial control by rejecting a speech that was designed to embarrass, mock and ridicule those in the commencement audience.”
The letter also notes the board’s “frustration” that Young didn’t speak with the investigator and takes advocates, Polis and the media to task.
“The efforts of organizations to twist this situation into a politically polarizing gay and lesbian issue are shameless,” the board wrote. “To promote the protection of one person, and yet remain silent on premeditated plans to embarrass members of the audience, reveals their intention to use this situation to push their own political agendas.”
Don Young, Evan Young’s dad, called the report on the investigation “honest and fair,” but said he was disappointed by the letter to the community sent by the Twin Peaks board.
For Evan, he said, the issue wasn’t that he didn’t get to read his speech, but instead about making the school’s environment safer for future students.
“The board of directors continues to show their ignorance,” Don Young said. “The board has not done anything to show they are going to make changes going forward. Nothing is going to change until they change.”
Kristin Lynch, a spokeswoman for Polis, said he was “glad to see this question resolved through an independent, objective third party. That’s exactly what he and other local leaders had called for from the beginning.”
She said Polis appreciated Bethke’s thoroughness and unbiased approach to the investigation, adding that the report highlights areas for improvement in how the school welcomes LGBT students.
“Rep. Polis is hopeful the school will work to address these areas in the coming school year, and he will continue to monitor its progress,” she said.
The St. Vrain Valley school board is expected to review the investigation report at an August meeting.
The district also is asking Twin Peaks to participate in administering a district survey addressing topics that include whether students are experiencing bullying or harassment.
Amy Bounds: 303-473-1341, boundsa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/boundsa
