Rule would make students get permission
to join gay clubs
By MARY MacDONALD, ajc.com from the Web, March 19, 2005
Atlanta, GA, -- A proposal before the state Board of Education could dissuade students from joining high school clubs for gay students by requiring written parental permission.
The rule, proposed by schools Superintendent Kathy Cox, doesn't specifically target clubs for gays.
But it was requested by lawmakers who have tried unsuccessfully for several years to squelch the gay student support groups that are popping up in Georgia high schools.
If the rule is approved by the state board, any student who wants to take part in any school-related club or after-school activity will need written permission from his or her parents.
Such permission already is required for student athletes, because of the risk of injury.
Expanding the requirement to other activities is unlikely to hamper participation in clubs that aren't controversial, such as French clubs or debate teams.
But principals say it will needlessly increase paperwork for teachers who sponsor the clubs.
Students and parents affiliated with the gay student support groups have their own concerns.
Because many students can't talk to their parents about their sexuality or consider their parents unsupportive, requiring written permission could dissuade many from attempting to join such groups, parents and students say.
That's the point, said state Sen. Ralph Hudgens (R-Comer), who sponsored a bill this session that would have required similar disclosure.
"I just believe that any child who would want to go and join that club, if they have to have their parents' permission, they're not going to feel comfortable going and asking Mama or Daddy to do it," he said.
Cox said she took the issue to the state board because she thought it, not the Legislature, should set policy.
The proposed rule isn't intended to suppress membership in gay support groups, Cox said, but to make sure parents are aware their children are participating.
"I don't think it will be used punitively at all," she said. "It's just a precautionary thing that makes common sense."
The proposal is expected to be voted on in April.
Parents such as Bill Pacer of DeKalb County, who has supported his daughter's efforts to start a gay rights advocacy organization at White County High School, said the proposal is mean-spirited.
"A lot of children are afraid," Pacer said. "That's one of the problems.
Orientation is not something you choose. Being gay is an orientation.
And a lot of parents don't understand."
Abby Farrar, 15, one of the White County students hoping to start the group, said requiring written permission could deter would-be club members.
"I know kids, they've told things to their parents, and they've pretty much kicked them out of the house," Abby said.
"Some people won't say anything to their parents."
Opposition also is coming from some principals, who don't see a need for the rule and wonder whether the paperwork will dissuade teachers from sponsoring student clubs.
Big high schools in metro Atlanta have as many as 100 student organizations that could require parental permission.
"You could have fewer kids who are enthused about exploring different interests," said Ron Wade, principal of Centennial High School in Roswell.
"It puts another task in front of students in order to form a club. It's more or less unnecessary."
The federal Equal Access Act protects gay-oriented clubs, which merit the same status as any other group that meets on school grounds.
In Georgia, student clubs for gay students and sympathetic classmates are in more than a dozen public and private high schools.
In White County, the proposal for a club that originally wanted to call itself the Gay-Straight Alliance has divided the community.
The club adviser is expected to meet Monday with school Superintendent Paul Shaw, who said Thursday that his staff is reviewing the club application.
Students now say it will be called PRIDE, for Peers Rising in Diverse Education.
At Marietta High School, one of the newest student clubs focuses on bluegrass music.
"They bring their banjos in and they just kind of jam," said Principal Gordon Pritz.
The school encourages student clubs, said Pritz, who is concerned that increased documentation could hamper teachers who agree to sponsor activities.
"The high school experience has to be more than just academics," Pritz said.
"If it's just about the schoolwork, it's tough."
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