From: xx155@yfn.ysu.edu (Family Magazine Sysops)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: PARENTS' RIGHTS RE: EDUCATION
Date: 20 Dec 92 23:22:34 GMT
Reply-To: xx155@yfn.ysu.edu (Family Magazine Sysops)
Organization: St. Elizabeth Hospital, Youngstown, OH


 
                   THE RIGHTS OF PARENTS AND STUDENTS
             REGARDING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOL EDUCATION


          Considering the diversity of curricular matters being
     discussed in both public and private schools today, it is of
     vital importance that parents know their rights and the rights
     of their children under law.  It is equally important that
     parents inform the school authorities, in the institution where
     their child attends, that they desire to have access to and
     opportunity to approve or disapprove of the curricula their
     child will be taught BEFORE the child is subjected to the
     material in class.

          It does not go without saying that much of what is being
     taught as "truth" and "fact" in schools today is directly con-
     trary to measurable scientific thought and Biblical veracity.

          The recent upsurge of parents in New York City regarding
     materials of a perverted sexual orientation that were being
     thrust upon their children at the FIRST GRADE LEVEL, is itself
     only the tip of the iceberg.

          Educational institutions are not a law unto themselves.
     They are accountable to local school boards, which in turn, are
     accountable to parents and the public-at-large.  Given the overall
     mobility of our society, whether a student in one state is
     correctly taught is and ought to be the concern of the rest of us.
     Thus, New York's problems are ours as well.

          The following letter is a model by which you may legally
     inform your school officials of your rightful desires with respect
     to the education of your child.  Read it carefully; then copy and
     submit it to your local school officials.  Be certain that they
     NOT BE ALLOWED TO IGNORE your request for a copy of their "policy
     statement on procedures for parental permission requirements."
     This is your right under the law!


                      MODEL HATCH AMENDMENT LETTER

     (Parents' names)________________________________________
     (Address)_______________________________________________
     (City, State, Zip)______________________________________

          I am the parent of __________________, who attends
     ____________ school.  Under U.S. legislation and court decision,
     parents have the primary responsibility for their children's
     education, and pupils have certain rights which the schools may
     not deny.

          Parents have the right to be assured that their children's
     beliefs and moral values are not undermined by the schools.
     Pupils have their right to have and to hold their values and moral
     standards without direct or indirect manipulations by the schools
     through the curricula, textbooks, audio-visual materials or
     supplementary assignments.

          Under the Hatch Amendment, I hereby request that my child NOT
     be involved in any school activities or material listed below
     unless I have first reviewed all the relevant materials and have
     given my written consent for their use:

          Psychological and psychiatric treatment that is designed
          to affect behavioral, emotional or attitudinal character-
          istics of an individual or designed to elicit information
          about attitudes, habits, traits, opinions, beliefs or
          feelings of an individual or group;

          Values clarification, use of moral dilemmas, discussion of
          religious or moral standards, role-playing or open-ended
          discussions of situations involving moral issues, and sur-
          vival games including life/death decision exercises;

          Contrived incidents for self-revelation; sensitivity train-
          ing, group encounter sessions, talk-in, magic circle
          techniques, self-evaluation and auto-criticism; strategies
          designed for self-disclosure including the keeping of a diary
          or a journal or a log book;

          Sociograms, sociodrama; psychodrama; blindfolded walks;
          isolation techniques.

          Death education, including abortion, euthanasia, suicide, use
          of violence, and discussions of death and dying;

          Curricula pertaining to drugs and alcohol;

          Nuclear war, nuclear policy and nuclear classroom games;

          Globalism, one-world government or anti-nationalistic
          curricula;

          Discussion and testing on interpersonal relationships;
          discussions of attitudes towards parents and parenting;

          Educating in human sexuality, including pre-marital sex,
          extra-marital sex, contraception, abortion, homosexuality,
          group sex and marriages, prostitution, incest, bestiality,
          masturbation, divorce, population control, and roles of males
          and females; sex behavior and attitudes of student and
          family;

          Pornography and any materials containing profanity and/or
          sexual explicitness;

          Guided fantasy techniques; hypnotic techniques; imagery and
          suggestology;

          Organic evolution, including Darwin's theory;

          Discussions of witchcraft, occultism, the supernatural, and
          Eastern mysticism;

          Political and/or religious affiliations of student or family;

          Income of family;

          Non-academic personality tests; questionnaires or personal
          and family life attitudes.

          The purpose of this letter is to preserve my child's rights
     under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (The Hatch Amend-
     ment) to the General Education Provision Act, and under its
     regulations as published in the Federal Register of September 6,
     1984, which became effective November 12, 1984.

          These regulations provide a procedure for filing complaints
     first at the local level, and then with the U.S. Department of
     Education.  If a voluntary remedy fails, federal funds can be
     withdrawn from those in violation of the law.

          I respectfully ask you to send me a substantive response to
     this letter, attaching a copy of your policy statement on
     procedures for parental permission requirements, to notify all my
     child's teachers, and to keep a copy of this letter in my child's
     permanent file.

          Thank you for your cooperation.

     (Signed)

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     This letter is reprinted from HOW GOOD IS YOUR SCHOOL? by
     Sally D. Reed.

     National Council for Better Education, Capital Headquarters,
     Washington, DC 20070-0158