System Out of Touch: Helpless Parents, Defenseless Kids
Warning: The first bullet point below (so you may skip it) contains an offense of a graphic nature not suitable for all readers.
Why are so many parents today angry with school officials? And just who is in charge of how our children are being raised? Consider:
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In Washington earlier this month, parents were outraged
to learn that the school principal had taught 10- and 11-year-old
(fifth grade) students how to perform oral and anal sex. Said the
superintendent, “I think the principal handled it appropriately at the
time; she only gave factual information, no demonstrations.”
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In Coney Island, New York, a principal pulled the patriotic “God Bless the U.S.A.” from the line-up of kindergarten graduation
lest it prove “offensive to some cultures.” NYC schools Chancellor
Dennis Walcott defended, “It’s the principal’s decision, and we support
the principals.”
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In North Carolina, an assistant principal strip searched
a third grader over $20 gone missing. Sources say he wore only his
t-shirt and boxers while she checked even inside the waistband of those
shorts. (The $20 was found under a classroom table.) A county
spokeswoman asserted, “[She] was within her legal authority, her legal
right, to do the search.”
(c) istockphoto
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These stories reflect what happens as more and more schools believe they get to decide
how best to treat and manage children. When common sense doesn’t
prevail, it’s because parents don’t have enough real influence. When
schools become more parent sensitive, these stories will go away.
Instead, parents are feeling pushed out of their role as decision makers for their child.
So who is right?
As each of these stories illustrates, the schools have more
and more power to make these decisions for your child, with or without
your consent. The law really is on their side. |
In 2006, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Fields v Palmdale
that “the right to [family] privacy…does not entitle [parents] to
prohibit public schools from providing students with information that the schools deem to be educationally appropriate,” (emphasis added) – a decision the Supreme Court has declined to reconsider.
How can we return the sanity of parental input to and protection of our schools? How can we stop the erosion of your role as the parent in the life of your child?
The proposed Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution will halt the growing intrusion of government over-reach
into your parenting decisions. The Amendment clearly states, “The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children is a fundamental right,”
and includes 3 more qualifying sections. An overwhelming majority of
Americans “of every stripe” agree with this right (source: Zogby poll).
Now it is time to enshrine it in the Constitution before it erodes even
further.
To read the whole amendment and learn how you can join the movement to preserve your parental rights, visit parentalrights.org. Please act to preserve your rights – sign the petition today!
  
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