Twin Peaks Charter Academy will launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the canceled speech of valedictorian Evan Young, who planned to use his graduation oratory at the Longmont school to come out as gay.

The school’s board announced its decision to do so in the wake of a letter it received Tuesday from U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, who also sent a strongly worded protest over the episode to St. Vrain Valley School District Superintendent Don Haddad.

In his letter to Kathy DeMatteo, president of the Twin Peaks Charter Academy Board of Directors, Polis, D-Boulder, urged an internal investigation aimed at developing “systemic reforms” to ensure a safe learning environment for all students, “including LGBT students.”

Also, Polis’ letter to DeMatteo stated that Colorado’s Charter Schools Act subjects all charter schools to state laws barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. It asserted that the school’s action “risks placing Twin Peaks out of compliance with its charter and could be grounds for the termination of your charter.”

A brief statement issued late Tuesday and attributed to the school’s board said: “Twin Peaks Charter Academy has a grievance policy that is taken very seriously. Per this policy, an investigation will be launched following the June board meeting and a written response will be provided within 30 days.”

Tracy Weise, a spokeswoman for the board, said the board’s June meeting is set for early this month. The only grievance at this point, Weise said, came from the congressman.

“Essentially, Jared Polis is filing a grievance,” Weise said.

Young, the 18-year-old valedictorian of this year’s graduating class at Longmont’s Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School, with a 4.5 high school GPA, was stopped May 16 from giving a speech in which he planned to come out as gay. And, in the process of doing so, Young’s family said, school Principal BJ Buchmann also outed him to his parents.

The school has defended its decision, saying that Young’s speech threatened the “solemnity” of the occasion and that he had also failed to resubmit a draft of his speech with requested edits in advance, as required — something both he and his father contest.

Late Tuesday, Young said, “I don’t want my school to get shut down or anything. I just want it to improve. I realize he (Polis) is basically saying what I’m saying, in much more eloquent terms, which is, what they did was wrong and I don’t want them to do it in the future.”

Young said he wants the school to be “much more inviting to LGBT students” and was glad the congressman “stood up for me and was on my side in this whole situation.”

The letter to Haddad, the St. Vrain Valley superintendent, takes issue with a previously published statement by district school board President Bob Smith, in which Smith declined to comment on the Twin Peaks controversy, saying the district doesn’t set policy over charters.

The letter to Haddad lays out a series of steps Polis believes are available to the district — including reconstituting the Twin Peaks board or requiring sensitivity training.

The school on Tuesday also issued a revised statement about the controversy in which it disputed previous reports that Young was not recognized as valedictorian at the May 16 ceremony, noting, “Mr. Young was listed in the program as such.”

Also, it pointed out that Young, who will attend Rutgers University this fall, was the recipient of a $500 academic scholarship awarded by the school’s board of directors.

Young acknowledged the board scholarship Tuesday, saying: “I did not feel like I was totally unrecognized. Money brightens everything.”

Young finally presented his speech to a different crowd, delivering it Sunday to an Out Boulder awards ceremony and fundraiser at a private home in Boulder for an audience that included Polis and state Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont. Young’s address was met there by a standing ovation.

Haddad’s office and a district spokesman did not return calls Tuesday seeking comment.

Charlie Brennan: 303-473-1327, brennanc@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/chasbrennan