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The grandparents of a 12-year-old student
who says she was forced to watch the R-rated, gay-themed
movie Brokeback Mountain at school have filed a lawsuit
against the Chicago Board of Education, The Chicago
Sun-Times reported. Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson,
the grandparents of Jessica Turner, are seeking close
to $500,000 in damages for psychological distress and
false imprisonment.
According to court documents, a substitute
teacher told students at Ashburn Community Elementary
School, "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays
in Ms. Buford's class." The suit claims Buford
then shut the classroom door and showed the film about
two cowboys involved in a homosexual affair. "It
is very important to me that my children not be exposed
to this," Kenneth Richardson said. "The teacher
knew she was not supposed to do this."
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for
Focus on the Family Action, said he's seen many news
reports in recent months about elementary students being
forced to take sex surveys or read pro-homosexual materials.
"As government schools continue to be controlled
by liberal educators, this encroachment upon parental
rights will intensify," he said. "The Chicago
situation is similar."
The Supreme Court has recognized parental
rights, Hausknecht said, including rights to be involved
in all aspects of public education.
"Unfortunately, of late, we have
seen federal courts limiting those rights by coming
to the aid of school districts that make outrageous
detours," he said, "granting cover to such
activity by buying into the notion that it is all 'curriculum
related.'"
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