Date: Sun, 24 Mar 1996 19:14:43 -0800 (PST) From: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: NH Parental-Rights Legislation; MN legislative update; correction re PA legislature Date: Sun, 24 Mar 1996 15:53:01 -0500 To: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu =46rom: culliton@handel.jlc.net (Penny Culliton) Subject: NH Parental-Rights Legislation Success in New Hampshire Here in New Hampshire, the State Senate Education Committee on January 30 heard proposed legislation (SB 653) which would have prohibited the teaching of some 95 topics if the parent(s) of any student in a class had signed a letter requesting that their son/daughter not be exposed to any of them without the parents' subsequent written permission. At the Senate committee hearing, n equal number of citizens testified for and against the bill. Those in opposition have succeeded in getting it amended to the following prior to its being put before the full Senate for a vote : ***begin amended text of SB 653**** 1 New Section; Parent and Pupil Rights. Amend RSA 193 by inserting after section 1-b the following new section: 193:1-c Parent and Pupil Rights. To protect the privacy of parents and pupils in the state of New Hampshire: I. All instructional materials, including teachers manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary materials which may be used in connection with any course of instruction, shall be made available by the school district at a convenient time and place for inspection by the parents or guardians of pupils. II. No pupil shall be required, as part of any course of instruction, survey, analysis, or evaluation to reveal personal information concerning: (a) Political affiliations; (b) Mental or psychological problems involving the pupil or the pupil's fami= ly; (c) Religious affiliations; (d) Sexual behavior and attitudes; (e) Privileged relationships with lawyers, physicians, ministers,= counselors; or (f) Income of the pupil or the pupil's family (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in subsidized programs or for receiving financial assistance under such a program). III. Educational agencies and institutions shall give parents and pupils effective notice of their rights under this law. IV. The attorney general shall take such action as the attorney general deems appropriate to enforce this law: (a) If there has been demonstrated a refusal to comply; and (b) Compliance with this law cannot be secured by voluntary means. 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 1997. ***end of bill text*** This is a VERY different animal from the original bill. Below is New Hampshire resident Penny Culliton's testimony before the NH Senate Education Committee, which she invites others to use as a model when testifying against similar measures in other states. >Statement on SB 653-FN >hearing before the Senate Ed. Committee 9 AM Tuesday 1-30-96 > >by Penny Culliton > >This bill states that "Pupils have certain rights which the schools may >not deny." Ironically, this bill seeks to have others deny NH students >their right to a meaningful and stimulating education, and indeed even to >think for themselves! This is not a "parental rights" proposal but a >"right to ignorance" proposal. > >First of all, let's take a hypothetical high school student whose parent >or guardian has signed this letter and whose school has put it into his >file. We'll call this student Johnny . Now - Here's what Johnny >conceivably couldn't learn or read or be exposed to or even think about if >his parent or guardian didn't want him to: > >under section (2) moral dilemmas: Just about the entire canon of >literature; the purpose of literature is to examine the human condition, >of which moral dilemmas are often central > >under section (2) moral or religious standards, Johnny certainly wouldn't >be able to read any American literature prior to 1860, such as those >pieces dealing with Puritans and Calvinists such as William Bradford's Of >Plimoth Plantation or any of the works of Jonathan Edwards; Enlightenment >and Revolutionary pieces such as the Declaration of Independence or >Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography.; and of course Transcendentalist works >such as those by Emerson and Thoreau. > >under section (2) role-playing could easily include the entire genre of >dramatic literature and theatre. > >under section (2) open-ended discussions are subject to regulation; would >people prefer closed-ended discussions, otherwise known as indoctrination, >or "my way or the highway"? > >under section (3) journals and log books could be forbidden; these are >techniques used by many writers (as opposed to diaries, which generally >have no place in a school setting). Hence, this bill could prevent Johnny >from being effectively educated as a future writer, even if this is where >his talents lay. But I doubt the proponents of this bill WANT any future >writers. > >Also under section (3) is listed "self evaluation." Folks, the word >"education" means a leading out of what is already there; e=3Dout; ducat= =3D >lead; by its very nature, it requires constant self-evaluation, as well as >evaluation of theories and ideas. > >under section (4) the inclusion of "death education=8A discussions of deat= h >and dying" would preclude use of Tennyson's In Memoriam - no more "'tis >better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" - as well >as many of Shakespeare's sonnets and all of his tragedies. And Johnny >might never be able to read John Donne's Religious Sonnet beginning with >the words, "Death, be not proud=8A" That would be a pity, but if Johnny's >parents wanted it that way, there'd be nothing anyone could do. > >under section (5) drug and alcohol education: Don't we want schools >teaching sons and daughters of alcohol and drug abusers that this sort of >behavior is NOT okay; do we want to teach them that if their families do >it, it's okay? We cannot show them a better way? Under this regulation, >Johnny would not be able to read The Mayor of Casterbridge, Catcher in the >Rye, The Pigman and Russell Baker's Growing Up if his family didn't want >him to be exposed to a novel showing the destruction which can occur as a >result of alcohol abuse. > >under section (7) literature touching on "globalism, one-world government, >and anti-nationalistic" ideas could be forbidden; Johnny couldn't read >Ayn-Rand's Anthem, an anti-collectivist novel showing the evils of >group-think and excessive conformity to government control. > >under section (9) if marriage cannot be discussed, Johnny won't be able to >read or hear about the lives of around 80 per cent of authors commonly >taught in our schools. He also won't be able to study: The Scarlet Letter, >Ethan Frome, The Great Gatsby, My Antonia, An American Tragedy, Hamlet, >Our Town, or The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Romeo and Juliet. > >under section (9) as well, prostitution cannot be discussed, thus >eliminating as a choice one popular research paper topic among HS students >studying law and democracy. Johnny also won't be able to read Sister >Carrie by Theodore Dreiser or Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen >Crane. > >under section (9), divorce will also be a regulated topic, so no Great >Gatsby for Johnny. > >Also under section (9), homosexuality could be eliminated from Johnny's >studies, thus eliminating biographies of around 20% of the authors most >commonly studied in high schools (not to mention the lives of various >people involved in other areas such as music and visual art), as well as >many works by Walt Whitman, WH Auden, EM Forster, and Henry James. > >under section (10), the roles of males and females could not be touched in >Johnny's schooling, so he wouldn't be able to read Macbeth, Hamlet, As You >Like It, Othello, Russell Baker's autobiography Growing Up, The Scarlet >Letter, > > >under section (11), imagery could play no role in Johnny's education, thus >eliminating the study of any and all poetry. > >under section (12) - and this is where this bill best shows its true >colors - Johnny would not be exposed to a THEORY, even when labeled as a >theory. The intent here is very clear; this bill is about mind control, >thought control. No wonder Johnny's parents wouldn't want him reading Ayn >Rand! > >under section (13), the writings of Cotton Mather and Arthur Miller's The >Crucible could not be discussed, and neither could a large hunk of >Colonial history, since these would inevitably involve discussions of >witchcraft. > >under section (14) , since the supernatural is deemed an unfit topic for >class discussion, Johnny will not be exposed to Greek and Roman mythology, >nor to the works of Washington Irving which have fascinated students for >generations; namely, "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "The Legend of Sleepy >Hollow." > >Clearly, this legislation flies in the face of existing New Hampshire >education laws, codes and policies, many of which state that it is the >paramount goal of the state to see to it that each child in the state is >provided the opportunity to reach his full educational potential and to >be exposed to the widest possible variety of educational and cultural >experiences consistent with a sound education. This legislation is >completely inconsistent with the goal of education in a democracy, namely, >that the citizenry who are running things number one are accustomed to >thinking for themselves and number two are making decisions based on the >broadest possible knowledge of facts, of theories, of history, and of >cultures. No one - parent, guardian, school, or state- must be allowed to >prevent the students from having the opportunity to acquire this >knowledge. > >Further, this bill could work to divide a family, since a student who >really wanted to be educated and whose parents sought to deny him or her >this education would have to seek emancipated minor status as his or her >only option for obtaining a free, public education. I doubt this would do >much to reinforce family unity. > >This proposal is also extremely unwieldy: When will schools let teachers >know which students are "lettered"? When will their parents read all the >materials? And when will these parents let teachers know what they can >teach? A teacher cannot exempt some students from integral parts of the >curriculum while requiring others to study these parts. If enacted, this >law will of necessity affect all students since class discussions require >everyone's input. (Small group instruction and cooperative learning are >not a substitute for a structured classroom and Socratic method.) > >As a teacher, I am also insulted by this bill's seeming to assume that >educators work by the seat of our pants and can change lesson plans and >curriculum on short notice; or that some pieces of a curriculum are >expendable or interchangeable. If that were the case, we wouldn't be >spending precious time teaching any or all of the pieces I just mentioned. > Penny Culliton culliton@jlc.net Wilton, NH =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =46rom: 9483@tccn.com Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1996 22:46:50 Subject: MINNESOTA GLBT POLICY ** GAY & LESBIAN COMMUNITY ACTION COUNCIL (GLCAC) PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE ** UPDATES ** LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: During this biennium, there have been attempts to attach anti-GLBT amendments to other bills, such as [..] and an amendment prohib- biting education about homosexuality in schools, attached to the K-12 Omnibus Education Funding bill. These proposed amendments were ruled not germane by House (DFL) leadership, so they never even reached a vote. This points up the importance of *supporting our supportive candidates* - not only for their votes on issues, but for their positions of influence, such as Speaker of the House (Irv Anderson), President of the Senate (Allan Spear), and committee chairs. ** [...] ** Other upcoming organizing efforts: [..] Supporting a Student Bill of Rights - rights to information access and an education free of violence and harassment. More information is forthcoming. ** MEETINGS - the next GLCAC Public Policy Committee meetings will be at 6:30 pm at Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th St., Minneapolis, on the following Tuesdays: March 26, April 9, April 23. ** =46or information about any of the above, contact GLCAC Ste. 204, Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th St., Minneapolis, MN 55409, 612-822 0127/1-800-800-0350/FAX612-822-8786/Email: glcacmpls@aol.com. To get on the statewide Email list, send an Email to Chernah at 9483@tccn.com --------------- {in an alert we sent Saturday re a "parental rights" bill in the PA legislature, we mistakenly stated that PA has a unicameral legislature with its Senate as the only house. that is WRONG, and we apologize. we got that wrong idea from examining the PA state government's web page, which only lists and refers to the Senate when it presents the legislative branch.} ----------- *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ YOU MAY RE-POST. Jessea Greenman The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) CHECK THIS OUT FOR TONS OF INFO - - http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ Please cc us (for our files) on correspondence you send or receive re our action alerts.