ARTICLES

Excuse Us

Pro-family Groups Counter Homosexual Curriculum in Public Schools

By Eric Reslock

A coalition of pro-family groups have joined together to promote the use of 'opt-out' forms for parents to excuse their children from activities or curriculum that treats homosexuality as a normal human condition. Parents have used these forms in the past to excuse their children from sex education classes in public schools. But since legislation went into effect on January 1 that would mandate curriculum and activities to remove 'bias' against homosexuality, the groups are urging parents to make use of state law that requires schools to notify parents in advance of sexually explicit content and allow parents to have their children pulled from such classes.

Last fall, Governor Davis signed into law two bills that will mandate that public schools offer exposure to homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestitism, transexuality, and other lifestyles. One will require "tolerance" education at all public schools and all grade levels, including kindergarten. The other bill will provide taxpayer-funded grants to take children on unspecified field trips to teach them diversity and tolerance. Both bills became law on January 1. Coalition members include the Campaign for California Families, the United States Justice Foundation, the Pacific Justice Institute, the Pro-Family Law Center and the Life Legal Defense Foundation.

One state law the form relies on is part of the California education code: "Whenever any part of the instruction in health, family life education, and sex education conflicts with the religious training and beliefs of the parent or guardian of any pupil, the pupil, on written request of the parent or guardian, shall be excused from the part of the training which conflicts with such religious training and beliefs. As used in this section, "religious training and beliefs" includes personal moral convictions."

Dana Cody, executive director of the Napa-based Life Legal Defense Foundation, has defended parents' use of the old forms since 1994. She says the school would have the first opportunity to accept or reject the forms, but appeals to the district level up to the state board of education are possible before litigation is necessary. Cody said, "If the school says that this is a required class, that you need it for graduation et cetera, then you go through the administrative process of the school district." Cody says she has had no signal from school districts as to how the forms will be received. "Typically, nothing is said until an actual case progresses. The typical response from school districts is that you're the only parent who objects, you're the only one who has a problem with this," Cody said. "That is kind of their stock answer." But in the cases where she worked for parents, Cody found that numerous parents had the same objections. "When you delve into a case, typically, you are not the only one."

Cody says that her attitude toward public schools has changed since 1994. At first, she says she simply wanted to defend the right of parents to hold religious principles without interference, but now, she says she thinks public schools are too hostile to people of faith. "Now my attitude is to encourage parents to get their kids out of public schools as quickly as possible," she said.

Scott Lively is president of the Pro-Family Law Center in Sacramento. He believes that the new forms have a good chance of success because schools are leery of defying state law. "When we have brought the education code up to school districts in the past, they have always complied. The school boards are always concerned with compliance and they will even go overboard at times to comply with the law." Lively says the understanding of the constitution's establishment clause on the part of school districts is one reason for the hostility between schools and parents with religious principles. He believes that because schools have a misunderstanding of what the separation between Church and state means on a practical level, they wrongly think that faith-based objections by parents will invite legal challenges from others.

But there is some question whether the use of statutes meant to allow parents to opt their children out of sexual education will be considered valid for removal from newly mandated homosexual content. Lively said, "I have no doubt they will be considered a stretch." Lively also believes that the new legislation has underlying assumptions that are challengeable by use of reason without relying on religious principle. "The whole premise of homosexuality is that it is an innate condition. This is a false premise that has never been supported by science -- what evidence there is, supports the other point of view. They [legislators] are doing nothing but affirming that premise. They therefore think it an appropriate response to make all students conform to this idea." "Whenever I talk to any public official or advocate for special rights, I go right to that original premise," Lively said.

Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, defends the use of the education code for parents to use against the new state mandate. "We didn't have R-rated movies in theaters back then, we didn't have a lot of things we have now." Dacus did not dispute that districts have been generally cooperative when considering parents' request to have their children removed from class under existing code. But he says California schools have not done a good job of notifying parents before objectionable activities or lessons have taken place. "When it comes to activities, they generally don't comply," he said. Coalition members agree that rural districts are often more cooperative to parents' faith. Dacus said there is "much more hostility in urban areas."

The institute recommends the opt-out forms be sent to school by certified mail to insure the school places it in the student's file. They also suggest that parents use caution before signing a blanket permission slip a school might issue in advance of objectionable activities or curriculum. If this happens, the institute suggests either not signing it, or signing only after striking out all references to sexuality. If a parent submits a form and a school rejects their request? "They need to contact us," Dacus said.

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