School Blocks Speech From Gay Valedictorian

The parents of a Colorado charter school valedictorian who was prevented from giving a graduation speech in which he planned to come out as gay say they won't pursue the issue further. The Daily Camera in Boulder reports 18-year-old Evan Young did not participate in a news conference yesterday about the issue as it gained national attention, but provided a statement that his father read aloud. The teen wrote that his frustration at Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont has "largely subsided." Young was told at the last minute that he could not give his speech or be honored in any way at the May 16 graduation.

A school official then revealed Young's sexual orientation to his father without the teen's permission. That especially has rankled critics, including Young's mom. "I'm a physician, and patient privacy is integral to our daily experience," says Alise Curry. "You never, ever reveal information about an adult to anyone without their consent, unless they are a danger to others—which I think we can agree that he was not. " (More valedictorian stories.)