A
moral battleground, a civil discourse
By Charles C. Haynes
Mon Mar 20, 6:44 AM ET
Yahoo!News
Tragically, public schools have become front lines in the
culture war over homosexuality - and the biggest losers are the kids
caught in the crossfire of incendiary rhetoric and bitter lawsuits.
In school districts across the nation, escalating conflicts involving
sexual orientation in the curriculum, student clubs, speech codes and
other areas of school life are undermining the educational mission of
our schools. Media stories in the past two months alone have
spotlighted bitter fights over these issues in Utah, Pennsylvania,
Kansas, California, Idaho and Florida. Any notion of the public
interest is often lost in the clash of world views across seemingly
unbridgeable distances.
When people are this far apart, every act by one side is seen as a
hostile move by the other. A "Day of Silence" to protest treatment of
gays and lesbians is now followed by a "Day of Truth" to promote
conservative religious views of homosexuality. A T-shirt proclaiming
"Straight Pride" is worn to counter one professing "Gay Pride." These
differences are deep and difficult to negotiate.
Can we do better? If we care about education - and the future of the
nation - we must. That's why the First Amendment Center asked Wayne
Jacobsen of BridgeBuilders, an organization that helps communities find
common ground on religious issues, to help me create a road map for
winning the peace in the fight over sexual orientation in schools. The
drafting committee also included representatives from the Christian
Educators Association International and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network, two groups with widely divergent views on
homosexuality, but with a shared commitment to civil discourse.
It took eight months to hammer out a statement of principles we could
all support. But finally, on March 9, we released "Public Schools and
Sexual Orientation: A First Amendment framework for finding common
ground." Two major educational organizations, the American Association
of School Administrators and the Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, have endorsed the document. The guide does not
prescribe a particular outcome, but rather proposes a process for
reaching an agreement that all sides can support. All of the sponsoring
groups have agreed to disseminate the guidelines widely and encourage
schools to address these issues proactively.
Fairness is a two-way street
For the process to work, school officials must be fair, honest brokers
of a dialogue that involves all stakeholders. That means, first and
foremost, that school leaders must refrain from choosing sides in the
culture-war debate over homosexuality. If schools are going to find
agreement on policies and practices that bring the community together,
it won't be by taking a side and coercing others to accept it.
Consider the case a few years ago of Thomas McLaughlin, a junior high
school student in Pulaski County, Ark. Thomas complained that because
he refused to keep quiet about being gay, school officials harassed and
punished him - forcing him at one point to read aloud Bible verses and
prayers. After a lawsuit was filed, the school district settled by
paying damages and apologizing to the student.
On the other side of the spectrum, Betsy Hansen, a high school student
in Ann Arbor, Mich., challenged her district in 2002 for censoring her
religious views in opposition to homosexuality. During a "diversity
week" program, school officials prevented Betsy from delivering a
speech she was asked to give because they claimed her Roman Catholic
views on homosexuality were "negative." Betsy also sued - and she won
when a judge ruled that her free speech rights had been violated.
As the outcome of these cases makes clear, school officials can't
impose one religious view of homosexuality, but neither can they censor
the religious convictions of students.
First Amendment ground rules
To avoid divisive fights and lawsuits, educators and parents must agree
on civic ground rules to ensure fairness for all sides. After all,
public schools belong to everyone. However deeply we disagree about
homosexuality, the vast majority of us want schools to uphold the
rights of all students in a safe learning environment. It isn't
possible for us to reach ideological or religious consensus, but it is
possible - and necessary - to reach civic consensus on civil dialogue.
School districts divided about how to handle issues concerning sexual
orientation should take a step back from the debate and find agreement
on First Amendment principles. Most Americans can agree that freedom of
religion and speech are inherent rights for all. Starting with an
acknowledgement of inalienable rights immediately levels the playing
field, helping to ensure that everyone has a right to speak - and
everyone's claim of conscience is taken seriously.
More challenging, but still attainable, is an agreement that we all
have a civic responsibility to guard the rights of others, including
those with whom we disagree. And, finally, people must agree to debate
one another without resorting to personal attacks, ridicule, false
characterizations of opposing positions and similar tactics.
In the guide, we call this commitment to the principles of rights,
responsibilities and respect "First Amendment ground rules." Using this
framework, people with deep differences are able to come to the table
ready to engage in constructive dialogue.
Finding common ground
With civic ground rules in place, school districts should consider
creating a permanent "common ground task force" that fully represents
the range of perspectives in the community. Given time and opportunity,
people with opposing views learn to trust and respect one another. And
that trust and respect can then translate into shared recommendations
on safe schools, balanced curricula, appropriate student expression and
other issues.
When they begin to listen to one another, most educators, parents and
students discover that they want the same thing: public schools that
are safe and free for all students. As we say in the guide: "A safe
school is free of bullying and harassment. And a free school is safe
for student speech even about issues that divide us." Once these shared
goals are identified, people are ready to tackle other contentious
issues such as gay student clubs and the treatment of sexual
orientation in the curriculum.
Winning the peace isn't easy - it takes commitment and courage. But if
people on all sides uphold the rights and responsibilities of the First
Amendment, they can agree on policies and practices that serve the
common good.
Charles C. Haynes is the co-author of Finding Common Ground: A Guide to
Religious Liberty in Public Schoolsand senior scholar at the First
Amendment Center in Arlington, Va.