|
|
|
|
We
live in a society where the state mandates that children attend school. Most
American students attend public schools. Public schools teach a curriculum that
has been required by the State Board of Education and the local school board.
Educational theories change from time to time. When those changes occur, there
is a period of time when school officials try out new ideas in an attempt to
find the best way to convey the knowledge to the students. One of the problems
with this concept is that experimental ideas are often on the edge of what is
acceptable to society. When they are implemented, parents often find their
children being taught ideas that are objectionable to family beliefs. In
the past, parents had very few options when their children faced instruction
from school officials that was out of step with what the family believed. Many
of the families affected by this particular problem were religious, often
Christian. While
parents may have little direct say about what ends up in public school
curricula, federal law has given parents clear rights to exempt their children
from experimental or values-related classes that depart from academics. The
Hatch Amendment (passed in 1984) was designed to reinforce parental control of
their children's education. Based on the Hatch Amendment, parents may have their
child excluded from experimental programs. The
Hatch Amendment, also known as the Pupil Rights Amendment, says parents have the
right to inspect all instructional material, including that used in experimental
or testing programs. Unless parental consent is given, no student shall be
required to submit to any kind of test designed to reveal information concerning
political affiliations, potentially embarrassing psychological problems, sexual
behavior and attitudes, illegal and anti-social behavior, critical appraisals of
family relationships, legally privileged relationships (such as those with a
minister or doctor), and income. If
your school introduces practices that appear related to the occult, such as
visualizing conversations with dead historical figures, chanting a mantra-like
slogan, practicing any form of meditation, and so on, then the Establishment
Clause of the First Amendment works on your side. The Establishment Clause
forbids the state from setting up one religion over and against other religions.
Since these practices are religious and state-sponsored, they represent a
violation of your rights. If
you even suspect your child may be facing situations like these, attempt to find
out immediately what is happening. Do not wait for your child to come home with
horror stories halfway through the school year with much of the damage already
done. Any sex education course or anything that appears to be remotely
experimental in your child's curriculum needs thorough investigation right away.
Check the materials. Meet the teacher. Question your children from day one.
Whenever possible personally monitor the classes so you know week-in
and-week-out what your child is being taught. Furthermore,
stay in constant touch with your children about the content and teaching methods
of what appear to be routine classes. A teacher can insert an unorthodox bias--
whether it is amoral, anti-Christian, anti-family, anti-life, or anti-American -
into any class in a potent way. Be sensitive to this possibility by staying in
close contact with your child, the school and your child's teachers. If
your school system is beginning to introduce a sex education course, get
involved. Lobby the school board or its designated committee to consider a
traditional sex curriculum, such as Teen-Aid or Project Respect. [FN46] Any
proper sex education course should teach abstinence as the primary and normal
method of birth control prior to marriage. You will have to fight the charge
that such an approach is unrealistic among today's licentious teenagers. Do not
give in to such defeatist logic. If
your school system already integrates liberal sex educators such as Planned
Parenthood or homosexual advocates such as As
a more immediate tactic, find out when the outside sex program representative
will be speaking to classes. Get concerned parents to take turns sitting in on
classroom discussions. Planned Parenthood has been known to tidy up its
presentations when parents are present. You
should try to resolve any such objectionable classroom practices locally. Appeal
to the teacher, then the principal, then the school board. If those appeals
fail, and you are dealing with a clear example of a school trying to implement a
New Age practice, legal action could prove successful on a First Amendment
basis. If appeals fail regarding values clarification or any sort of classroom
therapy, the Hatch Amendment provides grounds for appeal through the U.S.
Department of Education. Remember, this law does not prohibit the course, but it
does prohibit your child from being included without your permission. You
can formally request that the school inform you of questionable educational
materials and practices. Do
not be intimidated by the objection that a certain course falls outside the law
because it was not developed with federal funds. The burden of proof is on the
school to prove that the course used absolutely no tax money in its development,
and this is unlikely. Any complaints you make should state all details of the
violation. They can be filed through the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act Office, U.S. Department of Education,
|
