IRVINE : Ex-Cheerleader Sues for Reinstatement

A Woodbridge High School senior dismissed from the cheerleading squad after failing chemistry has sued the school district over its “no F” policy.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court, claims that the Irvine Unified School District’s policy discriminates against girls because it applies to cheerleaders but not football or baseball players.

While she was a junior last spring, Melissa Fontes, 17, was told she couldn’t try out for the next school year’s varsity cheerleading squad because of the school’s policy requiring that cheerleaders maintain a C+ grade-point average and pass all classes. Fontes was co-captain of the varsity squad and had been a cheerleader since her sophomore year.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money for alleged emotional damage that Fontes suffered after being kicked off the team and becoming the subject of a schoolwide debate.

Although school administrators had not seen a copy of the lawsuit Monday, Deputy Supt. Dean Waldfogel said the district’s academic policy for after-school activities has nothing to do with the sex of the participant.

Instead, the district places tougher academic standards for students who want to participate in year-round activities than for students involved with one-semester activities, such as sports, Waldfogel said.

One-semester activities include marching band, drama and sports, he said. Cheerleading begins in the fall and extends into the spring semester. Squad members are usually involved for even a longer period when tryouts for next year and summer competitions are taken into account, he said.

“It’s very much a year-around activity for them,” he said.

Requirements for full-year activities, including cheerleading and student government, are that students must have a 2.5 grade-point average over the last two semesters and must not have failed a class the previous quarter. One-semester activities require a 2.0 grade-point average for the previous quarter and that the student must have passed at least four classes.

Most athletes at Woodbridge participate in more than one sport but aren’t covered by the stricter policy, said Patricia Passy, Melissa Fontes’ mother. In a check of the high school yearbook, she said she found that 73% of the athletes participate in more than one sport and often are participants throughout the school year.