California Family Minute

Now some Bay Area parents are hearing virtually the same words from their school district superintendent, as their children are being forced to watch pro-homosexual movies as part of a curriculum to promote “tolerance” in the Vallejo Unified School District (VUSD). Stemming from a 2009 court case in which an openly gay lesbian student charged she was being harassed by teachers and staff, a settlement agreement between the district and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) mandated staff sensitivity training for all employees and classroom lessons about respect for students. 

The mandatory training called Respect for Differences features three grade-level, heavily homosexual-slanted films depicting same-sex relationships – “That’s a Family,” “Let’s Get Real,” and “Straightlaced.” These films depict same-sex relationships and families as just as normal and accepted as other family structures. If students miss a lesson, they are required to make it up, and parents are not notified in advance of the lesson, nor do they have the right to opt-out their children – as young as first grade – from the curriculum. 

While parents want the right to control what their children see – and when – the district superintendent does not agree. One parent with two middle-school students said, “No one should take my right to tell me what can be shown to my child. That’s my child.” Another parent with a nine-year-old daughter complained, “They tell me I have no parental consent over this . . . I have a choice to say when my daughter is ready for this topic.” However, these mandatory films and class curriculum may not be avoided by Vallejo’s public school students, as current state law only allows parents to opt their children out of sex-ed course instruction.

A parent brought the issue to the school board at a November meeting. Parents were critical that they were not notified and seemed to have no right to shelter their children from the sensitive lessons. Many took exception to the strong emphasis on sexual orientation without a wider look at other forms of bullying or harassment. Several African-American parents – and one school-board member – found the films’ stereotypical depiction of African-American families offensive.

Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is trying to help parents get some satisfaction. While no child should be bullied for any reason, all too often an emphasis is placed on sexual orientation, while other forms of bullying – due to race or religion – are ignored. PJI has filed a public records request with the district. In neighboring Alameda School District, PJI determined that bullying due to sexual orientation was virtually non-existent, but proposed curriculum failed to address the more prevalent gender and racially based forms of harassment.

• True Tolerance, a project of Focus on the Family
• Vallejo Unified School District
• “Parents question Vallejo school board about notification,” Vallejo Times Herald
• “Vallejo Parents Upset About Same-Sex Curriculum,” MSNBC.com

As Proposition 8 continues to wind its way through the federal courts, keep California’s definition of marriage in prayer. Pray for truth to prevail, and for discernment for the Prop 8 Legal Defense attorneys. Pray for the judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals who will hear the oral arguments on December 6. Our culture and our families are at stake – whether we like it or not.