A rumor is enough.

What's in a rumor about being a lesbian high school student? At California Lutheran High School it can get you kicked out.

That's what happened to two girls in October after faculty members of the private Wildomar, Calif., school (near Riverside) were given secondhand information from a parent that the two girls might have "homosexual ideas" or might be involved in a lesbian relationship.

Now the 16-year-old students, who wish to remain anonymous, are suing for discrimination, invasion of privacy, and unfair business practices. They're seeking unspecified damages and an injunction against any future expulsion of gay students.

"The suit is not personal, and we're not out to get the Christians," says the girls' attorney, Kirk D. Hanson, noting that the girls hope to be reinstated at California Lutheran. "The girls' civil rights can coexist peacefully with freedom of religion."

According to the suit, filed in December, the school's principal, the Reverend Gregory Bork, pulled the girls from their classrooms in September, interrogated them separately, and concluded they had a friendship "uncharacteristic of normal girl relationships," even though he admits no contact was observed between them. The students, who never described themselves as lesbian, were immediately sent home and later expelled. Bork had no comment for The Advocate.