WTH ? Why should some sort of apology be required if you
say that the Bible
condemns homosexuality ? That is a statement of fact.
Similarly, there are
statements condemning homosexuality in Buddhist
scriptures, in Zoroastrian
scriptures, Baha'i scriptures, and so forth, including the
Koran. This is not
in the least dispute.
.
Billy
.
.
DOE Investigating School Over Bible
and Homosexuality Comments
December 1, 2012|7:59 am
A federal investigation has
begun in an Alabama school district after a Junior ROTC
instructor allegedly expressed his belief that the Bible
does not support the homosexual lifestyle during class.
The U.S. Department of Education
recently sent a letter to Huntsville City Schools
Superintendent Casey Wardynski, informing him that the
department will be looking into the incident that occurred
in April at Grissom High School.
A female student in the class was offended after the
instructor, 1st Sgt. Lynn Vanzandt, expressed his beliefs
about same-sex relationships. The 15-year-old student and
her mother, Mia Gonzales, then contacted a local gay
advocacy group, GLBT Advocacy and Youth
Services, which complained to the school on the student's
behalf.
"My first thought was, 'What if there was a gay student in
that class that looked up to that instructor?'" Gonzales
told AL.com in August. "I'm not arguing with what people
believe. But what if this one student would have committed
suicide? That was a concern for me."
On Nov. 21 the DOE sent a letter to James Robinson,
director of GLBT Advocacy and Youth Services, which says the
department will be investigating whether or not students
were "subjected to a hostile environment
on the basis of sex or harassment based on failing to
conform to gender
stereotypes." They will also seek to find out if the school
district "retaliated against the Student...by failing to
respond and take action reasonably calculated to stop the
peer bullying."
A statement from Huntsville City Schools, which was emailed
to The Christian Post by district spokesperson Keith Ward on
Friday, points out that the letter from the DOE's Office For
Civil Rights (OCR) indicates the department has not yet come
to any conclusions regarding the incident.
Read more at
http://www.christianpost.com/news/doe-investigating-school-over-bible-and-homosexuality-comments-85891/#4g6PjYPk6DGXUZ5e.99
"The letter notes that the investigation 'in no way implies
that OCR has made a determination with reqard to their
merits,' and that the 'OCR is a neutral fact-finder' in
analyzing the complaint," the statement reads. "The district
will work with the OCR to provide any assistance to assure a
prompt resolution."
In May an attorney from the Freedom From Religion
Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist organization, also
emailed the district's superintendent to complain about the
situation. The email says Vanzandt "bullied" students and
"preached" his beliefs to them, and claims at least one
student left the class in tears.
It also acknowledges that Vanzandt apologized to students,
but says an apology isn't enough.
In a letter of response, the attorney for the Huntsville
City Board of Education, J.R. Brooks, called the accusation
of bullying "more than a little over the top."
"I am sorry...you do not believe that an apology is in the
slightest way helpful," wrote Brooks in August. "The
Superintendent disagrees with your point of view. Absent
further conduct of a similar nature, this matter is closed."
According to sources that spoke with WHNT-TV in Huntsville,
there are conflicting accounts from other students of what
happened during the classroom conversation in April –
specifically concerning the context of the conversation and
who said what.
Read more at
http://www.christianpost.com/news/doe-investigating-school-over-bible-and-homosexuality-comments-85891/#4g6PjYPk6DGXUZ5e.99
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