Thursday, March 15, 2007

Third Grader "Health" Curriculum Includes "Same-Sex Parents"

From "Gay Parents Video to be Reviewed in Evesham" by Matt Katz, posted 3/12/07, at Courier-Post Online

The district is set to announce today that it has formed a committee that will make a recommendation about a controversial video featuring gay parents, but committee members' names will remain secret to protect them from harassment.

Nine PTA parents will serve on the committee, district spokeswoman Jeanne Smith said, along with a group of teachers.

Susan Trimble, a parent, said she was initially told that since she spoke out against the video, she would be barred from serving on the special review committee.

Board President Rosemary Bernardi said the board initially interpreted a 1977 board policy and believed that biased parties shouldn't serve.

The controversy, which has garnered national media attention, began in January when a father complained anonymously to a local TV station about That's a Family! after it was shown at Van Zant School.

The film, part of a third-grade health curriculum about different family structures, depicts parents who are divorced, those who are raising children as grandparents and those who are in same-sex relationships.

Read the rest of this article.