California Education: Schools Devote May 22 to the Gay Lifestyle?
Harvey Milk
Do you know who Harvey Milk was? If you live in California and you don’t know who he was, you will soon find out.
According to the wording of Bill AB 2567:
“He was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in a major city of the United States. He was assassinated in 1978 at San Francisco’s City Hall by a political rival. Perhaps more than any other modern figure, Harvey Milk’s life and political career embody the rise of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement in California, across the nation, and throughout the world.”
According to a local news report:
“Today (August 7th), the California Assembly passed AB 2567 on a 43 to 26 vote, Democrats for, Republicans against. Earlier this week, AB 2567 passed the California State Senate on a 22-13 vote, Democrats for, Republicans against. AB 2567 now goes to Governor Schwarzenegger, whose position is unknown.”
Per Randy Thomasson, President of Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), a leading California organization allegedly protecting parents’ rights and children’s innocence:
“If signed into law, AB 2567 will mean an official day commemorating homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality in California government schools. This will harm children as young as kindergarten. Every May 22, AB 2567 will positively portray to children homosexual experimentation, homosexual ‘marriages,’ sex-change operations, and anything else that’s ‘in the closet.’ “
The transcript of the AB 2567 continues:
“(y) Harvey Milk’s life and social contributions have left an indelible mark on the history of our nation and hold a special meaning for the people of California.
SEC. 2. Section 37222 of the Education Code is amended to read:
37222. (a) The following days in each year are designated and set apart as days having special significance:
(1) The second Wednesday in May as the Day of the Teacher.
(2) April 21 of each year as John Muir Day.
(3) April 6 of each year as California Poppy Day.
(4) May 22 of each year as Harvey Milk Day.
(b) On each of the days designated in subdivision (a), all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to observe those days and to conduct suitable commemorative exercises as follows:
(1) On the Day of the Teacher, exercises commemorating and directing attention to teachers and the teaching profession.
(2) On John Muir Day, exercises stressing the importance that an ecologically sound natural environment plays in the quality of life for all of us, and emphasizing John Muir’s significant contributions to the fostering of that awareness and the indelible mark he left on the State of California.
(3) On California Poppy Day, exercises honoring the California Poppy, including instruction about native plants, particularly the California Poppy, and the economic and aesthetic value of wildflowers; promoting responsible behavior toward our natural resources and a spirit of protection toward them; and emphasizing the value of natural resources and conservation of natural resources.
(4) On Harvey Milk Day, exercises remembering the life of Harvey Milk and recognizing his accomplishments as well as the contributions he made to this state.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the exercises encouraged in this section be integrated into the regular school program, and be conducted by the school or institution within the amount otherwise budgeted for educational programs. [Emphasis added.]“
This bill is a perfect example of how legislation gets passed by combining innocuous, and even worthy, ideas with those that are detrimental to the populous. (I’ll let you decide which items I’m referring to.)
We must remember, though the article states Governor Swartzenegger’s position is unknown, the following California legal precedents should be kept in mind:
- Governor Arnie signed SB 777 into law.
- Homosexual marriages were recently legalized in the state.
- It was recently decided that to legally Homeschool (the choice of most conservative Christian families in California), a parent must have a teaching certificate (NOT required elsewhere in the nation).
I may take lots of criticism for saying so, but I am SO GLAD all my grandchildren are out of California schools.
Where is education going? We already know:
- Almost 70% of America’s eighth-graders do not read at grade level.
- Our 15-year-olds rank 25th in math and 21st in science in global competition.
- Graduation rates have dropped to ONLY 25% in some of our larger urban cities.
Where are the priorities for straightening out our schools?
Disgusted!
Brennan
PLEASE NOTE: In an addendum to the above post: On August 9th, in a unanimous decision, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District ruled that “California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education.” This is a victory for those who want to homeschool their child/children in California.
To Homeschool or NOT!
‘The Reading Lesson’ by Ekvall Knut
Many families in California are waiting to see what the final decision will be about the guidelines for legal homeschooling in the state of California. The results could eventually very well affect homeschooling across the entire United States.
What began as a child welfare issue evolved into a hotly-contested argument over who is qualified to homeschool their child in California and who is not. With the teaching unions, especially the powerful California Teachers’ Association, violently opposed to the homeschooling concept, the courts decided that ONLY a parent with a teaching credential is qualified to homeschool. This effectively eliminates the majority of homeschoolers in the state of California. The decision has been met with great opposition and, in fact, Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger has said he will fight it.
Having the governor fighting the stricter regulations on homeschooling is ironic, as it was the passage of SB 777, “outlawing terms perceived as negative to ‘gays’”, which Gov. Swatzenegger signed into law earlier last year, that precipitated so many parents removing their children from public schools and deciding to homeschool instead.
As I stated in my post of Oct. 12, 2007, entitled “‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ Banned from California Schools”,
“Governor Arnold Swartzenegger has signed a law banning anything in schools that can be perceived as negative to ‘Gays’. Under the new law, ‘Mom’, ‘Dad’, ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ are not allowed.
“Boys and girls will now use the same bathrooms and locker rooms if they choose. The news report, (originally) published in WorldNetDaily, makes it clear that NO laws banning anything perceived as negative to ‘Conservative and Traditional values’ is in effect.”
Immediately after SB777 was signed into law, many Christian Conservatives made the decision to remove their children from public schools, as a way to avoid the policies they felt were in violation of their personal beliefs and standards. Several Christian parents have been interviewed as saying that they will be forced to move from California, and seek employment elsewhere, in order to keep their children out of California public schools.
This could be a landmark decision.
Brennan
