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Published: May 22, 2009
Give in to our demands, or we’ll sue
ACLU threatens legal action against Ramona school district over refusal to allow students to see presentation on Harvey Milk without parental permission
The American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties is threatening to sue the Ramona Unified School District after a sixth grade student was forbidden from presenting a project on homosexual rights icon Harvey Milk to her classmates without first getting written permission from the parents of other students.
 According to a press release from the ACLU, Natalie Jones, a sixth grader at Mt. Woodson Elementary School in Ramona, was told by school officials that her classmates must first get written permission from their parents before she could present a PowerPoint presentation about Milk to them. Officials at the kindergarten through sixth grade school of 530 students said school board policy governing the presentation of materials regarding family life or sex education required signed permission from the parents of the students involved.
According to the ACLU, “the school violated Natalie Jones’s free speech rights when it refused to allow her to give the presentation in class. Instead, the school improperly required classmates to get parental permission to see the presentation during a lunch recess.”
“This whole thing is unbelievable – first my daughter got called into the principal’s office as if she were in some kind of trouble, and then they treated her presentation like it was something icky,” Natalie’s mother, Bonnie Jones, told the ACLU, according to their press release. “Harvey Milk was an elected official in this state and an important person in history. To say my daughter’s presentation is ‘sex education’ because Harvey Milk happened to be gay is completely wrong.”
“Natalie Jones, who was inspired to write about Harvey Milk after watching Sean Penn win an Academy Award for portraying him, got a score of 49 out of a possible 50 points on the written report,” said the ACLU’s statement. “Students were then told to make PowerPoint presentations about their reports, which they would show to other students in the class. The day before Natalie was to give her 12-page presentation she was called into the principal’s office and told she couldn’t do so. When Bonnie Jones spoke with the superintendent about the presentation, he said Natalie couldn’t give her presentation because of a district board policy on ‘Family Life/Sex Education.’”
The ACLU said that, a few days after Natalie was called into the principal’s office, the school district sent letters to the parents of all the students in the class “explaining that her presentation would be held during a lunch recess on May 8, and that students could only attend if they had parental permission.”
Ramona Unified School District policy provides, “Parents/guardians shall be notified in writing about any instruction in which human reproductive organs and their functions, processes, or sexually transmitted diseases are described, illustrated, or discussed. In addition, before any instruction on family life, human sexuality, AIDS or sexually transmitted diseases is given, the parent/guardian shall be provided with written notice explaining that the instruction will be given.”
“The principal and superintendent grossly misinterpreted school policy,” said David Blair-Loy, legal director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. “They illegally censored student speech protected by the First Amendment and the California Education Code. Writing or talking about a gay historical figure who advocated for equal rights for LGBT Californians is in no way the same thing as talking about sex, and school officials should not pretend otherwise.”
“Schools that act as if any mention of the existence of gay people is something too controversial or ‘sensitive’ to discuss are doing a disservice to their students,” said Elizabeth Gill, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s national LGBT Project. “This school completely overstepped its bounds in trying to silence Natalie Jones by shunting her presentation off to a lunch recess time and misusing a school policy to justify requiring parental permission to see it.”
Neither Blair-Loy nor Gill made reference to the “human sexuality” provision in the school district’s policy.
The ACLU sent a letter to the school demanding a written apology to Natalie Jones, as well as an apology letter to the parents who received notification from the school about the Milk presentation. The letter also demands that Natalie be given an opportunity to make her presentation to members of her class, and that the school district “clarify in writing that the parental notification and permission portion of the ‘Family Life/Sex Education’ policy only applies to the curricula identified as ‘course content’ for ‘Family Life/Sex Education instruction.’”
The ACLU gave the Ramona Unified School District five days to respond to its demands “or it may file a lawsuit on Bonnie and Natalie Jones’s behalf.”
Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 4:02 AM By Charles O'Connell
Transgressing, and denying the LORD, turning back from following our God, Threatening outrage, and apostasy, uttering words of falsehood the heart has conceived. Right is repelled, and justice stands far off; For truth stumbles in the public square, uprightness cannot enter. Honesty is lacking, and the man who turns from evil is despoiled. The LORD saw this, and was aggrieved that right did not exist. He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was none to intervene; So his own arm brought about the victory, and his justice lent him its support. He put on justice as his breastplate, salvation, as the helmet on his head; He clothed himself with garments of vengeance, wrapped himself in a mantle of zeal. He repays his enemies their deserts, and requites his foes with wrath. Those in the west shall fear the name of the LORD, and those in the east, his glory; For it shall come like a pent-up river which the breath of the LORD drives on. He shall come to Zion a redeemer to those of Jacob who turn from sin, says the LORD. This is the covenant with them which I myself have made, says the LORD: My spirit which is upon you and my words that I have put into your mouth Shall never leave your mouth, nor the mouths of your children Nor the mouths of your children's children from now on and forever, says the LORD. - Isaiah 59:13-21
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 6:11 AM By Ron
I pray the Ramona Unified School District does not give in to the ACLU. If the mother of Natalie Jones let her go see this "R" rated movie she is the one who should be ashamed and apologize. God Bless
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 6:49 AM By St. Christopher
The school is likely wrong on this one. However, the bigger issues is the growing societal glorification of morally questionable people like Harvey Milk. An assassin's bullet created a martyr, who would otherwise have been like many other politicians who survive by pushing their homosexual indoctrination demands into every household, into every church, into every school. The message here is to fight the cultural construct that as Milk was a "hero" then homosexuals are to be admired, and then no discrimination against them can be valid. Recall the Academy Awards acceptance speech by Mr. Penn (a talented actor, by all accounts). He focused on the issue of homosexual rights, and not on what the movie was about. It is all propoganda, although done well. A better paper would have been to compare the Milk movie with the movie, "Triumph of the Will," by Leni Riefenstahl.
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 7:41 AM By John
Just a prelude to "Harvey Milk Day" which is soon to be approved for all of California. CA bishops will remain silent. In both Catholic and public schools very young children will be given rainbow flags to color. Older children will be read stories about
"Dick and Doug" or "Jane and Joan" and how they are regular people who get married in church, have kids and do important community work. High Schoolers will no longer debate "gay marriage," but will write essays on the greatness of Harvey Milk. That is, if the "Catholic" Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the Harvey Milk Day into law.
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 8:17 AM By Kathy
Maybe another question to ask is why a 6th grader (mine is 11) is allowed to watch an R movie showing gay love scenes. Had my child come home and reported seeing a power point presentation on Harvey Milk I would have been all over it. No matter how benign this may seem, it is still a form of gay propaganda. This is not a movie about an Assemblyman who incidentally is gay. That wouldn't make a movie.
This movie is entirely about the gay rights movement and making a hero out of a gay murder victim. Making anti-gay feelings as criminal.
Bonnie is being disingenuous. She had an agenda for her child and everyone else's.
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 9:40 AM By Life Lady
It may be true that the homosexual community are "just people, like everyone else" but the very fact that they must identify themselves according to their sexual preference places them apart from the rest of society. Heterosexual people do not go around trumpeting the fact that they are heterosexual and have a preference for the opposite sex, so, it could be that Mr. Milk, in his quest to bring his message of equality to the masses got off on the wrong foot by presenting himself according to his sexual preference, thus separating himself from the very masses he strove to represent. I am surprised that that very point is missed by a majority of homosexual folks. I would say to them "Just be a regular person, What you do in private belongs to you and God. When you "come out" with that behavior, and admit to acting in a deviant way, I have the responsibility to correct you, and then to pray for you. Like it or not, its going to happen, like it or not." I am called to love you, even if it makes you uncomfortable. So, I can certainly understand the school making it clear that issues dealing with openly homosexual people are not the norm. They are issues that will garner questions from children, and parents ought to have the right to say whether their children should be exposed to that kind of information, and when they will be exposed to that kind of information. I don't care what the ACLU has to say about that. They are not the law, and they can sue anyone they want, it doesn't make them right, and it doesn't make parents wanting to protect their children wrong.
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 11:32 AM By Anne T.
Life lady, you expressed my feelings exactly in your post of 9:40 a.m. I don't like labeling people forever because people can and do change. Sometimes for the better and someties for the worse. God bless.
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 2:24 PM By The other Mike
Since when do sixth graders have "free speech rights"? The story sounds like the only people with rights are members of the homosexual lobby.
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 3:13 PM By Common Sense/Wisdom
Ha ha ha and everyone is surprised? This school is 100% correct because I for one would of been super mad if anyone would present Mr. Harvey as a hero! Such a controversial topic! Hey the school did nothing wrong, parents should be allowed to object to such report! The ACLU is truly the wrong one here! May the school officials fight this till the end and allow no intimidation! ACLU is way out of line and so are these parents who are objecting to the school's decision on parent notification! Hey they are a good school comparing to most of them. Lets have a report on abortion with pictures of aborted fetuses! Lets see then if they would prevent parent notification!
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 3:27 PM By Casey
Life Lady, I see heterosexual people every single day of the year who very much do "go around trumpeting the fact that they are heterosexual and have a preference for the opposite sex." Of course, many people don't notice it because it's so common that it's not unusual, or they're preoccupied with something else. Again, it's there, obvious as can be, whether people see it or not.
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 5:50 PM By BettyI
Any parent of a sixth-grader should be laughing so hard at a statement like that. Do we really have to put up with this nonsense from ACLU?
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Posted Friday, May 22, 2009 7:48 PM By Anne T.
Casey, there is not a person in the world who has not come into the world because of heterosexual sexuality. There is not any other way to get here. Even invitro fertilization requires both a man and a woman. I would agree, though, that we have an excess of vulgar, cheap, open sexuality of all kinds in our advertisements, programs, etc., some of which would have been called pornography years ago. It does need to be cleaned up.
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Posted Saturday, May 23, 2009 7:24 AM By Rkichard Flores
It's interesting that no one addressed the content of the presentation as THAT is the key issue! One must assume that it contained content which is covered under the school's policy; hence, it is obligated to follow the prescribed actions! If a kid wanted to present on condoms, the same action would be appropriate! The problem is the the gay activists are trying to make a gay issue when it is NOT! The administration is simply following policy! As usual, the ACLU is promoting certain values as opposed to protecting rights! The school acted appropriately and legally. They need to stand their ground or next year they'll have reports on legalized abortion!
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Posted Saturday, May 23, 2009 8:53 AM By Lori
Seems to me the school would win a lawsuit since they have the rules regarding such presentations already established in their school system. The ACLU is wrong in this case, as they usually are.
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Posted Saturday, May 23, 2009 8:15 PM By Homeschool Parent
For all parents: Homeschooling is 100% legal in California, and is a very good option if you are able to do it. We have home-schooled our kids with excellent results for the last 3 years. It is a big undertaking and definitely the tougher option, but it enables you to have full control over what your kids are exposed to. There are numerous complete curriculums available that ensure that your child is covering everything required for the grade. We have found that our kids get through a lot more material in homeschool than they did in public school. Check out Christian Home Educators of California website and Homeschool Legal Defense Association website if you would like more information.
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Posted Sunday, May 24, 2009 4:18 AM By Shanna
The ACLU manipulates the Court System, just as the Catholic Bishops, with their unlimited resources, have, and still do manipulate that same System for their own best advantage. And they both do it for the same reasons.... Because They Can.
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Posted Sunday, May 24, 2009 5:34 AM By Guest
It seems funny to me that in most of these opinions it would be ok for a sixth grade child to do a report on any straight person of influence, but the minute that persons sexual preference is called out it becomes controversial. I have a question for all of you religious people. If one of your saints was found to be gay would you respect them less or question all of the good things they had done? If your answer is yes then maybe you need to question the moral validity of your faith. Gay or not, people who do wonderful things should be recognized.
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Posted Sunday, May 24, 2009 12:27 PM By OneoftheSheep
How dare you have the audacity to inflict your agenda on the innocent minds and hearts of the children in the Ramona School District!
Better that a millstone be fastened around your neck and that you be cast into the sea than that you seek to destroy the very soul of God's little ones!
Shame on the ACLU, the Americans Corrupting Little Urchins!
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Posted Sunday, May 24, 2009 1:31 PM By Anne T.
By Guest, if a person is known to have practiced any type of mortal sin at the time of their death or encouraged such sin, they are not even considered for Sainthood. Temptations to sin are not sin. In fact, heroic virtue includes overcoming one's strong temptations to sin with the grace of God. It is called White Martyrdom. St. Robert Bellarmine said in his book, "The Art of Dying Well", that the Good Thief had been basically good all along because he recognized his own sinfulness and repented of it, and the bad thief did not. The bad thief was totally blind to his own sinful behavior because the gradually increase of his sinfulness over the years had finally blinded him. In other words, he had deadened his conscience till he could no longer tell right from wrong. "Ezekiel 1: 18 says: If I say to the wicked man, You shall surely die; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, on the other hand, you have warned the wicked man, yet he has not turned away from his evil nor from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin, but you shall save your life. If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him (allows him to be tempted--my addition), he shall die. He shall die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him. When, on the other hand, you have warned a virtuous man not to sin, and he has in fact not sinned, he shall surely live because of the warning, and you shall save your own life." The death mentioned in that passage can be spiritual death. This is one of the reasons Catholics and other Christians pray for final perseverance. We know it ain't over til its over.
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Posted Sunday, May 24, 2009 1:42 PM By JLS
Many kids in public school prefer to do their assignments at home instead of in class, due to the distractions in contemporary public schools such as kids coming and going, random announcements on the p.a. systems, talking, wandering around the classroom, drug, alcohol hangovers and kids up all night sleeping in class, ipods and various electronic devices some with internet capabilities, texting, refusing to do anything, intentional efforts to destroy the teacher's lessons, sudden eruptions that kids have to jump up and run for fresh air outside, pregnancy, morning sickness, kids having to leave early for sports events, kids coming into classrooms to collect, make announcements, run voting operations. The good news is that we are producing a nation of happy socialites who rule over all high tech and manufacturing nations. But wait: Since the schools merely facilitate socialization and don't teach it, then where do the kids learn it? On TV, where else.
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Posted Monday, May 25, 2009 7:39 AM By Jefferson Thomas
The ACLU has everything backwards as usual because they should actually be defending the parents rights to choose on behalf of their very own children. Of course that would make way too much sense wouldn't it which the ACLU is in very short suppy of these days.
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Posted Monday, May 25, 2009 9:58 AM By MarkF
Guest, being "gay" is an action or a series of actions. The Church does not categorize people by their sexual temptations or inclinations but by their behavior. So when you talk about someone who is "gay" but has done some wonderful things, it is confusing because I'm not sure what exactly you meant. But you raise an interesting question as to what does God think of someone who does both bad and good? The short answer is that we can't tell. That's up to him. But part of the Church's role is to maintain for humanity a standard of behavior, such as saying that this is good and this is bad. And I'm sorry to say that homosexual actions are very bad. They're bad for the person and bad for society. They are acts of darkness that create more darkness until it spreads. Many people are like myself who was formerly caught in this darkness. But with prayer and with God's grace - Holy Communion, the Rosary and Divine Mercy - even someone like me can be healed. If you're new to the Church this will sound very strange but I hope that you can understand what I'm saying.
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Posted Monday, May 25, 2009 10:48 AM By Common Sense/Wisdom
Homeschool Parent good idea! Homeschooling may be the best way out of these crises from those agenda promoters of immortality! Shame on Gov. Arnold, he played a huge role in getting these agenda's out. Jefferson Thomas you make good sense!
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Posted Tuesday, May 26, 2009 7:40 PM By lome
Give in to our demands, or we’ll sue
ACLU threatens legal action against Ramona school district over refusal to allow students to see presentation on Harvey Milk without parental permission
The ACLU gave the Ramona Unified School District five days to respond to its demands “or it may file a lawsuit on Bonnie and Natalie Jones’s behalf.”
To Natalie Jones,
We would like to apologize to you for the way, majority of the parents in your school are safeguarding and preventing their children from seeing the sexual practice of gay and lesbian which is so horrible to some, maybe because sex void of purpose other than plain pleasure of the flesh is ridiculous and dumb. Obedience to what is normal and moral is preferable. Love without sex is possible and more serving.. There are no gay genes
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Posted Wednesday, May 27, 2009 6:13 AM By Peter
Thanks lome for your opinion. Anyone else have an irrelevant opinion?
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Posted Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:47 AM By Talitha Kumi
Kathy @8:17 my question exactly! i think this sixth graders mother is the one giving this presentation viz her daughter.
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Posted Monday, June 01, 2009 12:56 PM By Common Sense/Wisdom
Some parents just use their kids to carry out their immortal agenda and don't really care about the welfare of their child nor others. We live in a society now where these agenda's are forced upon the faithful and God is being shoved out of the schools. The further we push the harder it will be to save souls. If they allow this child to present their views on Harvey, lets have another child present the opposite, and see how much further this society will get in terms of what is being taught. Learning the basics is no longer part of the curriculum, but the battle of agenda's will rule and kids will no longer be learning from what is right but they will learn what their ill driven parents have embraced. Un Churched people are like plants with no roots and no water, they will not reap good fruit and they will someday whither and die.
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