"Because the school accepts no government aid and prohibits its students from doing the same, it has the right to discriminate on the basis of religion." from a story http://www.newsday.com/ap/text/national/ap170.htm about a college for home-schoolers. Re: why govt subsidized arenas have to be neutral wrt who you kiss, a recent thread here. Along those lines, two more recent refs: one where a govt school cuts off the Scouts, another where a county doesnt and gets sued. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/xnyap/20000927/lo/brf_boy_scout_ban_1.html District Ends Boy Scout Affiliation NEW YORK (AP) - A Manhattan school board has banned its 42 schools from sponsoring Boy Scout troops because the 90-year-old national organization excludes gays. The board of Community School District Two passed the resolution at a meeting Tuesday night, becoming the first district in the city to enact such a ban. http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/20000927/t000091530.html Scouts Lease on Base Extended ACLU, gays claim rent-free access to Newport Beach site is a government subsidy for a discriminatory group. By DAVID REYES, Times Staff Writer Over objections from the gay and lesbian community and the threat of an ACLU lawsuit, Orange County supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved a 30-year extension of the Boy Scouts lease on a Newport Beach sea base under county authority. "This is good news for everybody in Orange County," said David Janes, a sea base volunteer and retired Navy rear admiral, after the boards vote. About 35 Scouts, their parents and Scout leaders attended the meeting in a show of support for the rent-free extension of the base lease, beginning in 2006. The Scouts have operated the base for 63 years and recently raised $4.5 million to renovate the popular facility. Opponents of the lease renewal argued that the county should not "subsidize" a group that discriminates against people because of sexual orientation. "It is clear that the Boy Scouts do not have the right to receive any government subsidies, sponsorship or special privileges, such as sweetheart deals on rent of government lands and buildings," said Martha Matthews, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU recently sued San Diego in federal court over a lease of public parkland to the Scouts for $1 a year. In response to a question Tuesday by Supervisor Todd Spitzer about whether the ACLU intends to sue Orange County, Matthews said, "Its likely that we would." Another great quote: The only thing different is you dont have to dumb down the vocabulary when youre teaching home-schooled kids, said Farris, a Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 1993 and founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association.