The Southern Poverty Law Center and National Center for Lesbian Rights sent a letter to the school district last month threatening a federal lawsuit if the district does not repeal a policy that requires staff to remain neutral on “sexual orientation.”
The groups actually expect the district to mandate that students and staff attend training “to prevent bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” and inject “issues related to LGBT people” into the curriculum.
The question is, who is bullying who? The Alliance Defense Fund is getting in the middle.
The ADF on Monday sent a letter to the district explaining that these threats “have no basis in law” and that demands made by these groups rely primarily on “appeals to emotion.” So far as the ADF is concerned, “the district should not be swayed by these unfortunate tactics.”
“School districts should not be bullied into taking the side of homosexual activists,” says ADF Legal Counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “Parents rightly believe that public schools are a place for education, not sexual indoctrination. The Anoka-Hennepin School District’s policy is entirely appropriate and legally sound.”
Specifically, the district’s policy states, “Anoka-Hennepin staff, in the course of their
professional duties, shall remain neutral on matters regarding sexual
orientation including but not limited to student led discussions. If
and when staff address sexual orientation, it is important that staff
do so in a respectful manner that is age-appropriate, factual and
pertinent to the relevant curriculum.”
The ADF letter points out that the school district’s neutrality policy
does not prohibit the legitimate discussion of issues related to sexual
orientation and does not target students who identify as homosexual,
bisexual or transgendered for mistreatment.
“SPLC and NCLR’s letter plainly misinterprets the district’s policy, is inaccurate as to the law, and is heavy on hyperbole,” the ADF letter states, adding that the two groups appear to be “more concerned with pushing their agenda than with offering real solutions to the problems of bullying and suicide, which … are faced equally by all students, regardless of their sexual orientation.”
“Indeed, bullying is not unique to students who identify as homosexual, bisexual or transgendered,” the ADF letter continues. “Accordingly, anti-bullying policies should broadly prohibit bullying against all students, regardless of the reason for the bullying, while at the same time carefully protecting the free speech rights of all students as well.”
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