News
2006-03-02
Parental approval
bill for gay student clubs revived in Georgia
A bill linked to
controversy over a gay student club at a north Georgia
school was revived in the state senate on Tuesday
A bill linked to
controversy over a gay student club at a north Georgia
school was revived in the state senate on Tuesday, in a
tougher form than a similar measure already passed by
the house. The move came one day after the American
Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against
White County's school district, saying it is unfairly
preventing a group for gay students and their friends
from meeting at a high school.
Republican state
senator Nancy Schaefer introduced legislation that
would require parents to sign off on any school club their
child joins. Schaefer, who represents White County,
successfully attached the legislation as an amendment
to another bill that requires parental permission for
a student to drop out of school. She said her amendment
was not directly aimed at the controversy over the gay club.
"We have strong
support from parents all over the state," she said.
"They just want to be notified; they want to know what's
going on with their children." Schaefer's amendment
was approved by an unrecorded show of hands. The bill
it was attached to passed 42–9.
Chuck Bowen,
director of Georgia Equality, the state's largest gay rights
organization, dismissed claims that the amendment had
nothing to do with the White County controversy. "This
clearly is directed toward gay-straight alliances, and
anyone who says otherwise is being completely
misleading and just downright lying," Bowen said.
In January 2005,
a group of students led by Kerry Pacer, TheAdvocate's Person of the Year, wanted to
start a gay support group called PRIDE at White County High
School in Cleveland, Ga. The school board agreed to
allow the club, but school administrators later
recommended eliminating all "noncurricular clubs" at
the high school. The club has continued to meet off campus.
The ACLU lawsuit claims other clubs, including a shooting
club and a dance team, have been allowed to meet at
school.
On February 15,
the state house passed a bill similar to Schaefer's
measure. But the house version would have required parents
to specify the club or clubs they do not wish their
child to join. Schaefer's bill requires parents to
approve every club their child joins, not merely
decline the ones with which they don't agree.
Bowen said his
group "could live with" the house version. "We
considered that far more acceptable," he said. "Senator
Schaefer's language is just mean-spirited, bigoted, and full
of hate." Schaefer said she merely intended to get
parents more involved in their children's school
activities. "Nowadays, it looks like people can do
just about anything and parents don't have to be
notified," she said. "What this does is, it puts parents
back in control." (AP)
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