According to the Massachusetts Sex Education Policy, if Mr. Parker provided written notification to the school principal to opt his child out, then Mr. Parker's request should be honored.
That school officials have ignored his request and said homosexuality is not about "human sexuality issues" but "real life" that must be taught to kids is very disturbing. I hope and pray Mr. Parker sees justice, and soon.
''We don't view telling a child that there is a family out there with two mommies as teaching about homosexuality, heterosexuality, or any kind of sexuality," he said. ''We are teaching about the realities of where different children come from."
It went on to say this about what started this whole thing over a year ago:
The bag of books promoting diversity is sent home with one student at a time, said Rachel F. Cortez, copresident of the Estabrook parent-teacher association and a member of the school's Anti-Bias Committee.
(Okay, I do think it is ridiculous an elementary school has an Anti-Bias Committee!)
Parents received notice about the book bag at the beginning of the year and the date that it was scheduled to be sent home with their child. The bag's contents also were put on display at a back-to-school night earlier in the school year, she said, and parents are not required to have their child bring it home.
(Mrs. Parker says she didn't see display and was not told about the bag specifically)
''The kids don't have to take them [the materials] home," she said. ''Parents can either opt out entirely or use whatever materials they want."
If what Mr. Parker says is true, and the school was informed of his general 'opt out' request, then YES, the school screwed up when it let Parker's son bring the "diversity bag" home.
But blowing this playgound incident out of proportion is nutty, and hurts his cause even more than his stunt of refusing to leave school grounds, being arrested and spending the night in jail "to make a point" (??), having "vigils", aligning with some (not all, but some) fringe groups like Fred Phelps' church, starting a David Parker Fund, and opening a pay-pal account.
Kinda Cindy Sheehan-ish, like he likes the fame of the issue.
By the way, why doesn't he pull his child from that school? It would seem homeschooling would be a terrific option!