Alleged Non-Compliance with Sex Ed Agreement May Result in Another Lawsuit
by Jim Brown
November 2, 2005
(AgapePress) - - A parents group is poised to sue the Montgomery County (Maryland) Board of Education for breaking a court-ordered agreement regarding the school system's sex education curriculum. Saying its nomination guidelines were not followed, the Montgomery County Board of Education recently denied the group Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum (CRC) representation on a curriculum advisory committee overseeing changes to the district's sex ed program. The court-ordered agreement -- which allows CRC and another community group to appoint anyone they choose to the advisory committee -- came after Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the district's comprehensive sex education program. Now the Florida-based legal firm is threatening to sue the board for violating the agreement.
Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver, who is representing CRC, says the board is being "arrogant" in violating the agreement.
Mat Staver | |
"It is ... uncalled for to violate a court order which you actually agreed to the terms of so soon after the entry of this order," Staver says. "It makes no sense to violate your own agreement in front of the same court where this will go back to be heard." Staver believes the court will be "very disturbed" at the recent development. "We are now consulting with our client and may go back to court requiring that this agreement be enforced by the court," he says. "I don't think the court will be very happy to find out that the Montgomery County School Board has already violated this agreed contract that has been approved by the court as a settlement of this case."
The Christian attorney expects that when the matter returns to court, there will be a court order requiring compliance and "possibly an order finding any further violations to be in contempt." Punishment for such contempt, he says, could be in the form of a civil penalty or jail time if further violations occur.
According to the Washington Post, the board approved to the advisory committee an individual put forth by the group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, but said CRC's representative was ineligible, having served before on the committee. CRC stated at the time that it had no plans to submit another name -- and contends they, not the board, should determine who would represent them on the panel.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
