ADF Halts NC Gifted Program's End Run Around Parental Notification

ADF Halts NC Gifted Program's End Run Around Parental Notification
Under Litigation Threat, Governor's School Drops Plan to Show Teens Graphic Film

(AgapePress) - The prestigious Governor's School of North Carolina (GSNC), a six-week residential summer program for academically and intellectually gifted high school students, is once again being accused of introducing sexually-oriented material to young people without their parents' knowledge.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a nationwide pro-family legal defense alliance, reports that the GSNC was preparing to show students the sexually explicit film, American History X, as part of a "Race and Film" series, but decided not to do so after ADF threatened to file a lawsuit. The Motion Picture Association of America has given American History X an R-rating for "graphic, brutal violence including rape, pervasive language, strong sexuality and nudity."

Last summer, the GSNC came under fire for presenting a seminar called "The New Gay Teenager," an offering that drew the ire of parents who felt the course amounted to homosexual indoctrination. Earlier this year, the instructor who helped lead that seminar was investigated for allegedly having sex with a minor.

In light of the past and more recent controversies, ADF senior legal counsel Mike Johnson says it is apparent the North Carolina program for gifted teens is attempting to push the envelope. "Even on the website," he notes, "and this is all public record -- anyone can go and check into some of the titles of these seminars they're leading these impressionable school children through -- there's clearly an agenda there."

The state-funded Governor's School prides itself on challenging gifted and talented high school students through a curriculum that explores "the most recent ideas and concepts" in a number of interdisciplinary areas. However, Johnson points out that, by law, the state's public schools are prohibited from teaching sexually-oriented material without informing parents.

"North Carolina law specifically requires that parents be notified and be given an opportunity to opt their students out," the ADF attorney explains. So, to the extent that any portion of the GSNC curriculum violates the law, he says, "that's where we can step in and prevent that."

American History X is regarded as one of the most violent and sexually explicit films on the market, Johnson observes. "The really shocking thing," he asserts, "is that the school officials with the Governor's School in North Carolina apparently attempted to show this, to exhibit it to these 16-, 17-year-old students -- some of them 15 -- without parental notification."

The GSNC is being accused of making a "stealth attempt" to show American History X to students without getting parental approval. According to ADF, in spite of repeated assurances by school officials that parents would be notified regarding any sexually-oriented material presented to students, the school did not notify or obtain permission from parents before trying to show the graphic, R-rated film, and Governor’s School officials were not responsive to requests for specific information about curricula and films that might be shown.

Faced with the threat of an ADF lawsuit, however, the GSNC backed down and decided not to show American History X as part of its "Race and Film" series. Johnson says schools should be required to follow the law, and he is pleased that "so far, we've been able to hold them accountable to North Carolina statutes protecting families."

The state's General Assembly has “deliberately and expressly placed an emphasis on the importance of parental involvement in curriculum related to human sexuality," Johnson adds. Where school officials attempt to circumvent these law's safeguards, he says ADF will continue to defend the rights of families through legal action as necessary.