Backers of a proposed high school in Chicago touted as a haven for gay and bullied youths have pulled their proposal, saying they wanted to spend another year to finalize their plans.
Under mounting pressure from ministers and gay activists alike, Social Justice Solidarity High School planners had already changed the school’s name and focus to create a school that would be one of the nation’s largest to serve any students who have fallen victim to bullying and harassment.
The plan, pulled on Nov. 18, hours before a scheduled vote the next day on its creation, also was a less explicitly gay version of a proposal first presented to Chicago’s board of education in October by Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan.
The school’s intended start date remains fall 2010, planners said.
