Posted by
TheChair on Monday, September 29, 2008 11:59:55 AM
The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports that Chino Valley Unified School District voted 4-0 to endorse Proposition 8. The most interesting thing about this endorsement is that
the Board based it on a report commissioned for the District. Apparently it wanted to know whether it was true that should Prop. 8 fail, California school curriculum would have to teach students aspects of gay marriage. Opponents insist that is untrue, that Prop 8. has nothing to do with the Education Code or with school curriculum. I
have posted many times on this, showing that Education Code sec. 51890(a)(1)(D) does indeed require that schools teach students about the "the legal and financial aspects and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood." It looks like the report to the Board concluded what should be obvious, that curriculum must adapt to the current definition of marriage. If the current definition of marriage includes same-sex spouses, students would have to be instructed in "the legal and financial aspects and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood" for same-sex couples as well as normal couples. There would be no avoiding this without major lawsuit. Textbooks would have to reflect marital "diversity," and classroom instruction could never elevate one form of marriage over the other. Both would have to be mentioned. And the problem could not be avoided by failing to mention either, because the law positively requires instruction in marriage. Finally, there is no exception for the early, primary grades. Kindergartners on up would have to hear or see this stuff.
Kudos to the Board of Chino Valley Unified School District for not taking rash action without a study, and then for its courage upon learning the result.