Hayley Gorenberg says the curriculum her organization, Lambda Legal, is backing for Montgomery County Schools, will keep students there ‘safe and healthy.’ (Photo courtesy of lambdalegal.org)
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JULIE R. ENSZER
Friday, September 14, 2007
Lambda Legal is the newest defender of Montgomery County’s gay-inclusive sex education lesson plans.
The nation’s oldest gay legal organization last week joined a growing court battle on behalf of Metro D.C. PFLAG, which has long praised and supported the lessons.
Hayley Gorenberg, deputy legal director at Lambda Legal, said her team hopes to bring quick resolution to a dispute that began in 2005.
“It’s a strong curriculum,” she said. “It’s going to help keep every student in the school system safe and healthy.”
But an attorney representing curriculum opponents said the case is nowhere near finished.
“This is the kind of case that could go to the Supreme Court,” said John Garza of Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum. “It’s a big social issue.”
Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays and Family Leader Network are challenging the Maryland State Board of Education’s decision to approve the lessons.
State officials said July 3 that legal challenges to the curriculum, raised by the three conservative groups, were unfounded and the curriculum is legal.
The lessons, titled “Respect for Differences in Human Sexuality,” explain concepts such as sexual identity and orientation using what supporters say is nonjudgmental language.
Montgomery County Public Schools students in grades eight and 10 are taught to recognize healthy relationships and to define human sexuality, gender identity and other terms.
Older students also examine topics such as coming out, and are asked to consider the challenges a transgender student might face. They also are taught how to use a condom. No special instructions are given to gay students.
Curriculum opponents have argued the lessons violate laws protecting free speech and religion.
In their decision, state officials acknowledged, “there may be disparate points of view on whether homosexuality or transgender issues are appropriately included in the curriculum,” but said they would “not second guess the appropriateness of the local board’s decision.”
The board’s vote did not deter curriculum opponents, whom last week requested a judge temporarily block district teachers from presenting the lessons.
In a 15-page motion, opponents say the curriculum wrongly teaches that sexual orientation is “innate,” shows “intolerance and hostility toward the ex-gay community,” and fails to note that gender identity disorder is listed as an illness in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Garza said the motion, which he filed jointly with the conservative Thomas More Law Center, could be ruled on within the next two to three weeks.
But curriculum supporters have argued the challenges are baseless. Gorenberg said the lessons are “based in the very best medical facts and science” available, and have been “exceedingly well vetted.”
Gorenberg also noted that students are not obligated to attend the lessons if their parents object.
“I do think that’s unfortunate, though, because I think all students are best served by learning all the facts,” she said. “An accurate curriculum in this area is going to help keep all students safe and healthy — and that’s regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Gorenberg said Lambda Legal is committed to protecting the long-contested lessons, despite arriving to court more than two years after the first challenge was filed.
“This involved a lot of planning and discussions, and we take our involvement in lawsuits very seriously,” she said. “We don’t always jump in immediately.”
Garza, who described Lambda Legal as “one of the largest law firms in the world,” said he’s not intimidated by their participation.
“They’re very smart people,” he said. “But you know, just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you win on every case.”
Joshua Lynsen can be reached at jlynsen@washblade.com.
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