Free Republic

Parents of elementary school children in California were upset that their kids were the targets of a sex survey conducted by the Palmdale School District. The survey, distributed in 2002, focused on how often prepubescent school kids thought about sex and touched themselves--you know, just the kind of things educators need to know to in order to effectively teach reading, writing and math skills. The parents filed a lawsuit, claiming that the survey "violated parents' substantive due process and privacy rights." Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Fields v. Palmdale School District [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0356499p.pdf], dismissed the suit, saying:...

CNSNews.com) - Parental rights advocates in California are claiming victory for stalling an Assembly bill that would allow schools to survey students on topics like sex and religion without written parental permission. Although the legislation would simply require parents to "opt out" rather than "opt in" where the questionnaires are concerned, a pro-family group is warning that the bill opens the door for homosexual activists to leave their mark on students from kindergarten to high school. The bill's sponsor, the California Safe Schools Coalition, argues that it's needed to get a better sampling of students on a wide range of...