HOUSTON -- Klein High School officials announced Wednesday that a settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of a lesbian student over the right to create a gay club on campus.

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Student Happy With School's Decision

Marla Dukler, 17, a junior at the school, told News2Houston that she was very happy by the decision to allow the formation of the Gay-Straight Alliance support group.

"I definitely think that the effort was worth it. I had to give up a little bit of time, but now my school is going to be a whole lot safer because of it," Marla said. "We're going to be able to meet. We're going to be able to work towards spreading tolerance around the school."

Dukler said that she was met with resistance at the school when she tried to form the support group in October.

The Klein Independent School District did not respond to a request from Marla and other members of her group to form the club last year, forcing the ACLU to take up the group's cause and file a lawsuit against the district.

"What we do know is that a lot of students want to form Bible clubs and they have that right. They want to form Gay-Straight Alliances and they have that right," said David George, president of the Houston chapter of the ACLU.

District officials said that they would have fought the lawsuit if they thought they could have won the case.

They said that the basic decision to allow the group to meet at school was beyond their control, because it is governed by the federal Equal Access Act.

"The issue is that regardless of my personal feelings, the principal's personal feelings or the community's opinion it is a matter of law," Superintendent Jim Surratt said.

School officials said that students will be required to have permission slips from parents and meet other requirements, which will also affect other clubs.

Marla said that the club will promote tolerance and a safe place for homosexuals to go and is expected to have its first meeting sometime after the spring break.

On Feb. 13, school board members went into a closed-door meeting to discuss the suit, but because of the pending litigation they made no decision on whether to allow the formation of the gay club.

Parents and community leaders protested school board meeting last month and asked the district to fight the lawsuit.

"We oppose the idea that all students be brought in to learn the gay and lesbian lifestyle," resident Jim Cabines said.

Lawsuits have been filed in other states to allow gay alliance groups on school campuses, and each case the clubs have prevailed.