Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Education
 
Board
State Board of Education
 
chapter
Regulations Governing Local School Boards and School Divisions [8 VAC 20 ‑ 720]
Action Amendments Regarding Use of Controversial or Sensitive Instructional Materials
Stage NOIRA
Comment Period Ended on 1/15/2014
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1/15/14  11:09 am
Commenter: Susan Percy, Virginia resident, concerned citizen of Fairfax Co.

Parental Notification re: students being subjected to viewing of objectionable behaviors.
 

Surely Virginia will exercise common sense regarding where the rights of the state and the rights of parents require careful consideration and respect for the role of parents in education.  Of course parents should be notified-and given right of refusal-- if children are to watch, in a classroom or state sanctioned informational presentation, depictions of sexually explicit behaviors--for viewing by their own children.  These are front line issues that responsible parents already address with their children in many ways, tangentially and explicitly. It is far healthier, and imbuing with defenses against offensive  behaviors, if children learn and react in the presence of parents vs. other students whose own perspectives after viewing could be far more offensive in the teaching process and abrogating of the parent's control in the process of seeing/reading such resources that may or not reflect the values of the child or the parents.  

Even the proposal of this policy assumes the lowest common denominator for all students. Shameful. 

CommentID: 30670