WHAT PARENTS CAN DO ABOUT NEW CALIFORNIA LAW THAT EXPANDS COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION TO KINDERGARDENERS
Special and sexual interest groups successfully promoted a new California law that expands comprehensive sex education to kindergartners and that removes requirements for parental permission before discussing sex, family, and personal beliefs with children. Freedom 21 Santa Cruz (http://www.freedom21santacruz.net) provides background on the controversial law and gives parents with tips and tools for advocating for children in government schools.
FREEDOM, CA (PRWEB) December 19, 2003 --One of Gray Davis' final acts before being recalled by California voters was to sign a controversial bill that allows government schools and teachers to approach children with questions about their parents and family, and to discuss personal sexual issues -- without parental consent. Signed into law October 2, the "Comprehensive Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Act" (SB 71) authorizes schools to "provide comprehensive sexual health education" to all children, including kindergarteners, without parental permission. Similar legislation may soon appear in other states.
PROTECTION OR VIOLATION?
Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles), author of SB 71, argues that the new law streamlines and standardizes sex education curriculum across the California school system. Sponsors of SB 71 -- including ACLU and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California -- say the law promotes women's health and reproductive rights.
Citing its de-emphasis of abstinence education, expansion of sex education to all grade levels, and the elimination of requirements to receive parental permission before approaching children about sexual issues, opponents of the new law say that SB 71 represents a radical agenda that violates family and student rights. "SB 71 is certainly not about women's health or reproductive rights," said Daren England of Capitol Resource Institute (CRI). SB 71 is about "eliminating parental involvement in the sex education of their children and removing important instruction for our children from the education code," she said.
Assemblywoman Sharon Runner expressed "horror" over the law because she says it removes parents from the education process. "SB 71 excludes parents from the classroom and short changes children the chance to discuss critical sex education values," she said. "Parents are the first line of defense in protecting their kids from exploitation and government must uphold that principle," Runner added. "We can't support a [law] that... erases the line of communication between kids and parents."
CHOICE WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE?
The ACLU argues that SB 71 "gives parents a choice by allowing them to remove their children from sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention instruction by streamlining the current patchwork of notification and consent procedures that often leave school districts in violation of the law and parents in confusion." However, the "choice" is in the form of a notification that can be buried in a stack of other materials at the beginning of the school year, according to Pacific Justice Institute President Brad Dacus. If parents don't acknowledge or see the notification, and if they don't take pro-active steps to "opt-out" of the program, the California law allows adults at the schools to approach their children about sex, family, and personal issues.
"Fortunately for parents in California, the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Act... puts the requirement of prior written consent on all public schools that receive federal money," Dacus said. "The Pacific Justice Institute will be aggressively using every federal statute available to ensure their defense. Further, public school districts should consider this notice that we intend to file suit on behalf of any parent that reports a verifiable violation of their rights."
OPT-OUT OPTIONS
Parents who want to take proactive steps to protect family autonomy can file a general opt-out form, like PJI's "Excuse of child from objectionable education" form, AptosParent.net's "Notice of Parent's desire to participate in child's education" letter, or CRI's "Student Exemption" form [resources cited below].
These tools are designed to help parents inform government schools of their desire to actively participate in the formal education of their children by being notified about any discussions, questionnaires, workshops, or assemblies that the law defines as potentially controversial, including the following: Sex or family life education, AIDS or HIV education, suicide or death education, sexuality, showing of adult or pornographic films, religious or political indoctrination, behavior modification programs, values clarification, and global education dealing with any of the above.
ADVOCATING FOR OUR CHILDREN IN THE GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS
Following are some tips offered by Freedom 21 Santa Cruz (http://www.freedom21santacruz.net/) to help parents and communities advocate for children in the government schools:
- Assume primary responsibility for the formal education of our children; let's not abdicate parental responsibility to virtual strangers.
- File a general opt-out letter [see "Referenced Tools & Resources" below] at the beginning of the school year to insist the school involves us in the education of our children and notifies us of controversial issues; this can help give us have the opportunity to determine how your family will participate in controversial programs.
- Carefully review all notifications that come home from the school; let's not sign over our children to programs that we haven't thoroughly researched.
- Know our children, know their teachers, and know our family rights.
- Advance academic achievement for each individual child.
- Develop policies and practices that support and protect children, and that respect the individual child.
- Demand educational competence from teachers and administrators.
- Support and nurture educators; expose special interest activists.
- Encourage direct family and public involvement in curriculum development.
- Develop easy access to resources, support, and networking opportunities that allow families to have an influential voice in the local school system.
- Be the example we want our children to follow.
- Be persistent and rational in our efforts to advocate for our children.
- What do you do to advocate for children in government schools? Please send your tips to advance@freedom21santacruz.net.
REFERENCED TOOLS & RESOURCES:
"Excuse of child from objectionable education." AptosParent.net.
(http://www.aptosparent.net/excuse_pupil.pdf)
"New California law expands comprehensive sex education to kindergarden
(http://www.freedom21santacruz.net/advance/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=63&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0)
"Notice of Parent's desire to participate in child's education". AptosParent.net.
(http://www.aptosparent.net/student-rights-letter.doc)
"Parent and Student Rights in Public Education." Capitol Resource Institue.
(http://www.capitolresource.org/parents___student_rights.pdf)
"Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment" (PPRA)
(http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ppra/index.html?exp=0)
"Student Exemption". Capitol Resource Institute.
(http://www.capitolresource.org/opt-out_form.pdf)
For additional references and resources, please see the original story at:
http://www.advancebulletin.net/
ABOUT FREEDOM 21 SANTA CRUZ
Freedom 21 Santa Cruz is a freedom policy center that celebrates the principles of self governance and individual liberty which inspired the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. We are individuals who advance the freedom of all by promoting and strengthening the practice of Constitutional administration in local, state, and national government. Participation in Freedom 21 Santa Cruz is open to the public. Participants include people from all political parties who are united in the pursuit of individual liberty and the protection of our US Constitutional Republic.
For more information or to make a contribution, please visit http://www.freedom21santacruz.net/.
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(c) 2004 Freedom 21 Santa Cruz (http://www.freedom21santacrzu.net). For permission to redistribute or republish this article, please inform Freedom 21 Santa Cruz at: madison@freedom21santacruz.net.
by Andy Donnach for www.AdvanceBulletin.net (http://www.advancebulletin.net), a publication of Freedom 21 Santa Cruz (http://www.freedom21santacruz.net)
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