Mass. Parents Await Word on Parental Rights Lawsuit
by Jim Brown
September 5, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Two Massachusetts families are waiting to hear whether their parental rights lawsuit against the Lexington school system is allowed to move forward. The families say they are trying to protect young impressionable school children from pro-homosexual teaching in the classroom.
The families have filed a lawsuit against the Lexington school system, seeking "explicit and timely" parental notification when issues of human sexuality are discussed with their children in the classroom, and also the choice to "opt out" their children from such discussions. One of the plaintiffs, David Parker, was arrested last year for protesting school officials' refusal to grant him parental notification.
Parker says there are more fundamental constitutional issues at stake beyond the Massachusetts opt-out provision. In fact, he lists three: the right to the free exercise of religion; the right of parents to be "the primary directors of the moral education of their children"; and the right to "enjoy the zone of privacy" related to intimate family matters.
In their 57-page motion to dismiss the case [PDF], Lexington officials argue they have a "legitimate interest" in promoting homosexuality to students and a duty to acknowledge and celebrate homosexual relationships. They also accuse the plaintiffs of censorship. "[N]either this court nor other courts throughout the country have recognized constitutional claims that would entitle individual parents to control the flow of information and the curriculum of public schools, or to censor material inconsistent with their religious beliefs," says the motion.
Parker says he is not surprised by that argument. "They say we're trying to dictate the curriculum in schools," he comments. "Again, they're missing the mark on this and trying to reframe the issue so we're put in a position where we're trying to defend something we didn't even ask for."
Parker says thus far, his legal team of Denner & Associates has been "two or three steps" ahead of the defendants every time.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
