Battle over Sex Survey for Kids to Continue Despite Court Ruling
A Christian legal group will ask a court of appeals to set aside a controversial ruling that declared that parents do not have the ''exclusive'' right to teach their children about sex if they are enrolled in public schools.
A Christian legal group will ask a court of appeals to set aside a controversial ruling by the Ninth Circuit last Thursday that declared that parents do not have the “exclusive” right to teach their children about sex if they are enrolled in public schools.
The parents’ decision to appeal keeps the case alive in the courts following a furor created by pro-family groups who opposed the decision.
“The parents feel like their children were mentally raped when they were subjected to embarrassing and inappropriate sexually explicit materials,” said Mathew Staver, President and General Counsel for the Liberty Counsel.
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At issue in the case is a questionnaire issued by the Palmdale School District in California to children ages 7 to 10 that contained questions designed to measure psychological barriers to learning. Although parents were informed of the test, they were not told that 10 of 79 questions would relate to sexual behavior. The survey asked the children about the frequency of “touching my private parts too much,” “thinking about having sex,” and “having sex feelings in my body.”
In written opinion of the court in the Fields v. Palmdale School District Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that parents do not have a “right to compel public schools to follow their own idiosyncratic views as to what information the schools may dispense.”
In addition, the court ruled that a public school could not be prevented from providing any information “sexual or otherwise” as the school determines is appropriate.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is the nation's largest and considered by conservatives to be the most controversial. It is the court whose decisions have been most frequently overturned. Three years ago, it found that the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools was unconstitutional because it contained the phrase "under God." The Supreme later overturned the decision on procedural grounds.
Recently some lawmakers have considered breaking up the court into two smaller districts, saying it has grown too large and inefficient in carrying out its duties, although legal experts and judges on the court say that the long-term impact of the decision is uncertain, according to Knight Ridder Newspapers.
“It would be irresponsible for us not to act,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose state resides within the Ninth Circuit.
Staver indicated that he would appeal and ask the full panel of the court to set aside the ruling.
