Heterosexual-only Plan Proposed for Tennessee Schools

Tennessee Representative Stacey Campfield has proposed a bill in the Tennessee House that would outlaw discussions of homosexuality in the state's elementary and middle schools.  House Bill 2997 would amend the state code to include the following language:

The general assembly recognizes the sensitivity of certain subjects that are best explained and discussed in the home. Human sexuality is an immensely complex subject with enormous societal, scientific, psychiatric and historical implications that are best understood by children with sufficient maturity to grasp such issues.  Notwithstanding law to the contrary, no public elementary or middle school shall permit any instruction or materials discussing sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.

Campfield's proposal is the latest protests against positive representations of homosexuality in public school.  In December, the First Circuit heard oral arguments in Parker v. Lexington, wherein four parents brought a Free Exercise claim against the school district for failing to provide advance notice that the book King and King was to be read during their children's class.  The book tells the story of a prince who marries another prince.  The parents said they should have been given the option of removing their children from class during such lessons under an opt-out provision that applies to sex education lessons, and that reading books involving the topic of homosexuality violates their right to raise their children according to their own religious dictates.  District judge Mark L. Wolf rejected their claims, concluding that the parents did not have a right to dictate the public school curriculum.

-Kathleen A. Bergin