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| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| ===Origins=== | ===Origins=== | ||
| Parents Action League member Barb Anderson, a former district Spanish teacher and a longtime researcher for the ], fought ] in local schools for two decades. |
Parents Action League member Barb Anderson, a former district Spanish teacher and a longtime researcher for the ], fought ] in local schools for two decades. When the Anoka-Hennepin district's sex-ed curriculum was due for re-evaluation in 1994, Anderson and four like-minded parents joined the review committee. They argued against teaching gay tolerance in school, suggesting that it would "promote homosexuality", and that discussing it openly might actually "turn straight kids gay".<ref name="onetown" /> | ||
| Anderson's agenda is similar to that of ]. At the end of the committee's seven-month-long sex-ed review, Anderson and her colleagues wrote to the Anoka-Hennepin school board, concluding, "The majority of parents do not wish to have there children taught that the gay lifestyle is a normal acceptable alternative."<ref name="onetown"></ref> The school board voted to adopt the measure by a four-to-two majority, using language from the committee's memo to create a district-wide policy. The policy prohibited ] to be taught as a "normal, valid lifestyle", within the health curriculum. The policy was unofficially known as the "No Homo Promo". Teachers said it had a chilling effect and they became concerned about mentioning gays in any context. Gradually discussion of homosexuality disappeared from classes.<ref name=Erdely /><ref>{{cite web |url = http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2012/03/parents_action_league_listed_as_hate_group.php |title = Parents Action League listed as a hate group |author = Jessica Lussenhop|publisher=CityPages|accessdate= July 10, 2012 }}</ref> | Anderson's agenda is similar to that of ]. At the end of the committee's seven-month-long sex-ed review, Anderson and her colleagues wrote to the Anoka-Hennepin school board, concluding, "The majority of parents do not wish to have there children taught that the gay lifestyle is a normal acceptable alternative."<ref name="onetown"></ref> The school board voted to adopt the measure by a four-to-two majority, using language from the committee's memo to create a district-wide policy. The policy prohibited ] to be taught as a "normal, valid lifestyle", within the health curriculum. The policy was unofficially known as the "No Homo Promo". Teachers said it had a chilling effect and they became concerned about mentioning gays in any context. Gradually discussion of homosexuality disappeared from classes.<ref name=Erdely /><ref>{{cite web |url = http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2012/03/parents_action_league_listed_as_hate_group.php |title = Parents Action League listed as a hate group |author = Jessica Lussenhop|publisher=CityPages|accessdate= July 10, 2012 }}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 09:00, 15 September 2012
| An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it.Feel free to improve the article, but do not remove this notice before the discussion is closed. For more information, see the guide to deletion. Find sources: "Parents Action League" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR%5B%5BWikipedia%3AArticles+for+deletion%2FParents+Action+League%5D%5DAFD |
 Logo of the Parents Action League | |
| Founded | 2010 (2010) |
|---|---|
| Type | Citizens Organization |
| Location | |
| Key people | Laurie Thompson, President Barb Anderson |
| Website | www |
Parents Action League is an organization started in 2010 to protest proposed changes in the Anoka-Hennepin (Minnesota) School District 11 policy which had limited discussions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues in district classrooms. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the organization as an anti-gay hate group.
Background
Between 2009 and 2011, nine students in Anoka-Hennepin committed suicide; the area is designated by state health officials as a "suicide contagion area." At least four of these students identified as gay or were perceived by their classmates to be gay, leading to bullying. The district is the subject of a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education over the climate of anti-gay harassment and discrimination based on sex, including peer-on-peer harassment based on not conforming to gender stereotypes.
The district received criticism for its Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy (Feb. 2009) because it stated that teachers should be neutral when addressing issues of sexual orientation in their classrooms. Critics said this "neutrality policy" prevented acceptance and open discussion of GLBT people and issues in schools, and was essentially a "gag order" on teachers. The "neutrality policy" as it was called, allows teachers to address LBGT issues in the classroom but forbids them from staking out positions on such issues. The policy was characterized as contributing to the harassment and bullying of LGBT students. Advocates for the students charged that several student suicides in the district have been linked to such harassment, and they want the policy repealed. The controversy escalated into lawsuits and a federal investigation. District administration attempted to clarify the policy by explaining its anti-bullying and harassment policies specifically name sexual orientation as a protected class of people. The Sexual Orientation Curriculum Policy stated teachers can address issues of sexual orientation in their classes provided the discussion is age-appropriate, fact-based and connected to the curriculum.
History
Origins
Parents Action League member Barb Anderson, a former district Spanish teacher and a longtime researcher for the Minnesota Family Council, fought LGBT rights in local schools for two decades. When the Anoka-Hennepin district's sex-ed curriculum was due for re-evaluation in 1994, Anderson and four like-minded parents joined the review committee. They argued against teaching gay tolerance in school, suggesting that it would "promote homosexuality", and that discussing it openly might actually "turn straight kids gay".
Anderson's agenda is similar to that of Focus on the Family. At the end of the committee's seven-month-long sex-ed review, Anderson and her colleagues wrote to the Anoka-Hennepin school board, concluding, "The majority of parents do not wish to have there children taught that the gay lifestyle is a normal acceptable alternative." The school board voted to adopt the measure by a four-to-two majority, using language from the committee's memo to create a district-wide policy. The policy prohibited homosexuality to be taught as a "normal, valid lifestyle", within the health curriculum. The policy was unofficially known as the "No Homo Promo". Teachers said it had a chilling effect and they became concerned about mentioning gays in any context. Gradually discussion of homosexuality disappeared from classes.
Petition
In 2011, the Parents Action League circulated an online petition supporting the Anoka-Hennepin school district's sexual orientation curriculum policy, which has been challenged by advocates for LGBT students. The School district has disclaimed connection with the outside group.
As part of their list of demands to the school district, members of PAL included "incorporating ex-gay (conversion therapy) into the school resources." They specifically called for a new division within the student support services and a special section on the District 11 website devoted to students of faith, moral conviction, ex-homosexuals and ex-transgenders. They also asked for school administrators and staff work closely with pro-family and ex-homosexual and ex-transgender organizations, and for the district to provide information on the history of Gay-related immune deficiency (GRID), acquired immune deficiencies and the medical consequences of homosexual acts.
Repeal
On February 13, 2012, the policy was repealed and replaced by a vote of 5-1 with a new Respectful Learning Environment Policy. The old policy was repealed because the US Department of Justice "agreed with the crux of the lawsuit -- that the neutrality policy and the policies that preceded contributed to harassment of gay kids" including six bullied gay students (including one who committed suicide). The new policy requires teachers to discuss contentious issues in a way that "shall affirm the dignity of all students."
Hate group designation
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has designated the Parents Action League as an anti-gay hate group. SPLC's Heidi Beirich said "the Parents Action League was included on their hate list for 'damaging propaganda about the gay community,' including calling gays and lesbians 'promiscuous, dysfunctional, unhealthy'." The SPLC noted for groups including Parents Action League, "viewing homosexuality as unbiblical does not qualify organizations for listing as hate groups." She added that the studied the behaviour of the Parents Action League before adding them the list.
Parents Action League president Laurie Thompson, in email, did not respond to the SPLC accusations but did pose "pointed questions": "How does being pro family/pro parental rights constitute a group as a hate group?" and, "How does being an advocate for parental rights to raise their children come off as being hatred?" Thompson also said: "It is a privilege to be added to the long list of pro-family organizations that have been labeled as 'hate groups. The SPLC continues their strategy of defaming and name calling toward those whom they disagree with."
See also
- Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment
- List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as anti-gay hate groups
- Michele Bachmann
- Suicide among LGBT youth
References
- ^ Erdely, Sabrina Rubin (04 February 12). "One Town's War on Gay Teens". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Parents Action League. "Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- ^ Birkey, Andy (August 22, 2011). "Parents Action League warns of 'radical homosexual agenda' in Anoka-Hennepin schools". The Minnesota Independent. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ Southern Poverty Law Center. "SPLC". Retrieved July 8, 2012.
- ^ Louwagie, Pam (August 12, 2012). "Trying to track hate, in Minnesota and around the country". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
In the case of groups the center considers anti-gay, including the Anoka-Hennepin district's Parents Action League, the center says listings are based on "propagation of known falsehoods -- claims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authorities -- and repeated, groundless name-calling. Viewing homosexuality as unbiblical does not qualify organizations for listing as hate groups." The center's Heidi Beirich said the Parents Action League was included on their hate list for "damaging propaganda about the gay community," including calling gays and lesbians "promiscuous, dysfunctional, unhealthy."
- Baca, Maria Elena (December 11, 2011). "Rifts still evident at hearing on embattled GLBT policy". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- Mencimer, Stephanie (July 25, 2011). "The Teen Suicide Epidemic in Michele Bachmann's District". Mother Jones.
- Harlow, Poppy and Probst, Emily. (July 20, 2011). "Minnesota school district investigated after civil rights complaint". CNN.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Birkey, Andy. MinnesotaIndependent.com 29 Sept. 2010 "Following suicides, Anoka-Hennepin community presses school board for change"
- Draper, Norman (August 18, 2011). "Petition supports Anoka-Hennepin GLBT policy". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- Carlson, Dennis. StarTribune.com 10 Aug. 2011 "Superintendent: GLBT neutrality policy is best for Anoka-Hennepin schools"
- ^ Politics: One Town's War on Gay Teens
- Jessica Lussenhop. "Parents Action League listed as a hate group". CityPages. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- Birkey, Andy (January 13, 2012). "Conservative Christian parents fight for right to discriminate against LGBT students at Anoka Hennepin". Twin Cities Daily Planet. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
- Ford, Zack (January 17, 2012). "Some Minnesota Parents Call For Ex-Gay Therapy, Teaching About AIDS As 'Gay' Disease". ThinkProgress.org. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
- Baca, Maria Elena (February 13, 2012). "Anoka-Hennepin school district votes to replace neutrality policy". StarTribune. Minneapolis: StarTribune. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Jessica Lussenhop. "Anoka-Hennepin settles lawsuit with bullied students". CityPages. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
- Anoka-Hennepin District No. 11. "RESPECTFUL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT – CURRICULUM POLICY". Retrieved July 10, 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Horner, Sarah (March 13, 2013). "Anoka group makes rights center's hate list - Parents Action League earns designation for stands on gay". St. Paul Pioneer Press. St. Paul, Minnesota.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help)
External Links
- Official web site
- Letter sent from the Southern Poverty Law Center to the Anoka-Hennepin School District on May 24, 2011