Friday, May 22, 2009

ACLU Threatens to Sue CA School for Censoring 6th Grader's Report on Harvey Milk


Well, once again we discover that all the idiots are not in Tennessee. There are idiots in California too! When a 6th grade student did a report on the legendary Harvey Milk, the actual principal of the actual school thought the student was doing a report on sex! Here's some news for you Principal Theresa Grace, if reports about gay people are reports about sex, then reports about straight people are reports about sex too. Duh. How did Theresa Grace ever get out of high school?

SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday threatened to sue a San Diego County school that refused to let a student present a report on slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk until her classmates got their parents' permission to hear it. David Blair-Loy, legal director of the ACLU of San Diego County, said the principal of Mt. Woodson Elementary School in Ramona violated the free speech rights of 6th-grader Natalie Jones, who was the only student in her class prevented from giving an in-class presentation.

Principal Theresa Grace concluded last month that the subject of the girl's project triggered a district policy requiring parents to be notified in writing before their children are exposed to lessons dealing with sex, according to Blair-Loy and Natalie's mother. After the principal sent letters to alert parents about the "sensitive topic," Natalie was allowed to give her 12-page PowerPoint report during the May 8 lunch recess, but not in class, Blair-Loy said. Eight of the 13 students in her class attended, he said.

In a letter to the Ramona Unified District on Wednesday, the ACLU demanded that school officials apologize to Natalie and clarify its sex education policy. It also wants the girl to be given the chance to present her biographical account of Milk's life and death in class. "It's not about sex, it's not about sex education. It's a presentation about a historical figure who happened to be gay," Blair-Loy said. . . A bill passed recently by the California Legislature would establish Milk's May 22 birthday as an annual "day of significance" in the state, a move designed to encourage schools to discuss his career and legacy.

LA Times: ACLU blasts school officials over sixth-grader's Harvey Milk report