ATV Florida Forum

As shocking as it may seem, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that courts--not parents--have the final authority on when and what to teach children about sex education.

In their ruling, the Court determined that parents DO NOT have a fundamental right to control when, where and how their children are taught about sex. Rather, the Court ruled, that right belongs to activist judges.

I know you probably aren't believing this, so I have provided a link to an article on the recent ruling written by Kathleen Parker, a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. Click here to read the column.

This is simply another encroachment by activist federal judges to take away the rights of parents and turn those rights over to the judges. These liberal activist judges feel they know better how to raise your children and grandchildren than you do!

It is time for parents and grandparents to tell activist judges to back off! Sign the petition. Forward the petition to your friends and family. We will forward the petitions to the U.S. Supreme Court where this case will eventually be decided. Hopefully, by then, Supreme Court nominee Justice Samuel Alito will have been confirmed and this crazy ruling by the Ninth Circuit can be overturned.
CLICK LINK TO SIGN PETITION
http://www.afa.net/petitions/signpetition.asp?id=1450

Yea it is kinda weird,  They were teaching it in my 8th grade health class and now in my 9th grade Freshman Exp. Class. They should back off and let parents decide.

Done. Thanks Chuck.

it is just another unpopular Choice made by the imfamous 9th district court. these are the idiots that seem to have the agend of removing any referrence of GOD in our society.

They got power right?  They can do anything they want with it and dont care for nobody..

Yeah they did the same thing with the "under God" stuff. They are liberal idiots and right now there is ALOT of talk in Congress about splitting up the 9th circuit.

The Public can't do anything about so we just got to ride it out.  That's why one day hopefully I'll be in the court system or maybe even in the White House.  Who's voting for me?

Sorry, but, I'm sure there's more to this story than the petition listed here. Anybody have a link to the other side of this story? After all, us parents have been doing such a fine job at sex educating our children, haven't we? LOL :)  

Most parents are to stupid to teach there kids sex education, there for the judges have to rule. If Ya don't like it, privite school or home school. Or put your conservative 1800's thinking under lock and key and catch up with the rest of the world.

nothing to do with the 1800's, it's about how a parent wants to raise their own child.  If the money that goes to public school were returned to the parent, I'm sure there would be tons of parents out there who would take their children out of the government school right away.  You might be correct in assuming that most parents are toO stupid to teach, but what about the parent's who want to teach in their own way?  Let us not forget that war has been made over ideas like this. 

Now that iv'e said my peace on that,,,,are there not opt-out signup sheets or something like that that the parent's have to sign?  I remember way back when I went through that class in 4th grade(with a homosexual teacher teaching it funny enough), that my parent's had to sign a sheet allowing me to go through with it.

Id@

This is the article. I couldn't find a link anywhere in your original post.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-parker0605nov06,0,641649.column

I think kids need to know stuff. I mean you dont want your kid getting information from other kids right? But even being extremely liberal as I am I DO think parents should have the final say.

I have no problem with the schools teaching kids sex-ed. The problem here is the kids are 7 to 10 years old. If you think that 7 to 10 year olds having sex is normal you have something seriously wrong with you. This is not 1800's conservative thinking, these kids arent even going through puberty yet. I am just completely amazed that anyone could think this is OK or normal. If you do think it is cool, you have fun raising your grandkids for the next 11 years because your kid cant even get a job yet.

Whoa, hows that for telling parent they don't know what they're doin. I have two handsome young men as sons, and I know that at some point in their lives they will become sexually active( if they're anything like their dad they will be little horndogs), and I have already begun taking precautions to prevent a pregnancy or STD's by educating my sons on a level that they understand about subjects they understand. The questionairre that the children in the article had to take would have sent me into a fit about what the he11 is goin on in the class, why would the state try to find out if a 7 year old "Wants to take a shower cuase you feel dirty inside." What 7 year old would even know what "Dirty inside" means, what 7 year old needs to know what that means?
This fight is not just a West Coast thing, up north I was watching a story on the news about 7 year olds learning about family values, same sex partner family values. The school board tresspassed a parent from school property for protesting. As parents we have to make alot of day to day decisions about the safety and welfare of our children, what makes a state government more qualified to do that? Now granted there are some parents out there that could care less what happens to their kids, I personally am not one of them and would do anything to protect them including breaking the law.
Private schools have to love stuff like this, I know I'm looking into it.

Thank god for private schools after this sort of thing.... my whole stand is, when the govt starts providing my kids with all the things they will need in life, so that i dont have too (cold day in hell there) then they can start making decisions on how to raise my children, my choice to have kids, my money and time to raise them, my decision on when and how they will learn certain things.

Besides how many folks actually listened in those sex ed classes, i know i did not, it was an easy breeze through type of class that you were guaranteed to pass, all you had to do was show up on time... Unfortunately, most kids will always learn far more than we want to from other kids, parents will always be stuck with doing "damage control"

Maybe if a few prominant lawyers should start putting lawsuits on the courts and making them pay for taking away our rights then some of this garbage may stop. You cannot hardly blame the lazy people out there for not wanting to work and wanting to stay home because the government tells us how to raise our children and how we shall live so maybe they should pay our way through life.

Sexual education is a fine line to walk just like politics and religion.  I know the schools I attended starting teaching us about sexual education in the fifth grade.  They split the boys from the girls and talked about our body parts and the changes they would soon be going through.  We were definitely not seven years old.  That is just sick that kids that young would be asked questions with any kind of sexual  content. 

And it's hard to say how that topic should be handled in school if it should be at all.  Some parents are offended by what the schools teach their children about sexual education.  Most schools can only teach abstinence if anything at all now a days.  Which is by far the best thing to teach but we all know how well teens abstain from any kind of sexual activity.  Can't say I know of many people who have waited until they are married to have intercourse and that’s why I think it is equally important that they teach TEENS about birth control and other means of safe sex and the consequences that can follow if they don't have safe sex.

But on the other hand why should the teachers be worrying about sexual education and then get scrutinized by parents if they may have said something the parents find inappropriate. 

It could go back and forth forever.  The problem is the opinionated are to opinionated.  The schools will never find some kind of program that ALL parents can agree on, therefore the parents should take up the responsibility of raising sexual awareness with their own children.

Ok, well here then. Let me give the perspective of this from a teen with some smarts. Nowa days, they better teach em young. So get it started in school, cause by the time parents say ok, time to talk to them about SEX. By then folks the kid is probably done gone everything but sex or even had sex itself. Its starting in middle school in nowa days. I wont say anything about myself but other than its started. I say its good and teach em school or the parents better step up to the plate.

PS: Raptor700 please stfu we already know your a dumbass no need to show us more.

Oh, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese! It's okay to teach 2 year-olds bowel-control to defecate into a pottie or a toilet, but, God-forbid 7-10 year olds learn what thingy and vaginas are used for. This is NOT about religion, morals or denying parental rights.  because Public school only has a limited amount hours to teach children and only a minute portion of that time can be spent on sex education. Parents will always have ALL of the remaining time(years) to pass-on their personal sexual agendas(which often includes prejudice, hatred, intolerance, sexual abuse, ignorance, lies, etc.).

Well , as a parent, you can also look at it this way, If the school is teaching sexual education to younger children ( which I don`t feel is appropriate at that age ) at least you know who is doing the right or wrong ! Remember anyone can go to planed parenthood and get all the info, and or forms of birth control needed and by law cannot contact the parents!!!!
   Just a second look at the situation, I am not trying to get a HUGE debate going, I just thought I could get some of us to see it differently.

Teaching what they are used for is one thing. Asking the kids if they take showers because they feel dirty inside is just plain rediculous. And yes it is OK to teach a 2 year old to defecate in a toilet because we are civilized, we do not walk around using the bathroom on the street.

My point, exactly. A "civilized" society teaches their children socially-acceptable behavior. But, some parents teach anti-social(prejudice, racism, hatred, intolerance, FEAR, etc.) behavior. Or, they don't teach their children about human sexuality or otherwise neglect or abuse their children. Since these children don't wear labels on their foreheads, all children should be publicly educated. If, as a parent, you are truly that concerned with public school curriculum on sex education, get involved in it, instead of just preaching doom and gloom or a "burn-the-books' mentality!

So, how come you don't pull him out of school that week when they teach about the Civil War or about slavery or whatever? Do you know how many young girls are performing oral and anal sex because they're told by friends and acquaintances that they can't get pregnant or an STD that way? Are you as a parent going to explain those kind of facts? Oh, I forgot, we should just teach abstinence, that'll fix it all. LOL. I've shaken hands with gay people, black people, asian people, etc. and have yet to be converted!

*round of applause*

I think that the issue here is who has the right to teach our children, we as parents, or the government.  I fully do believe that children, at the appropriate time, need to be taught the "birds and the bees".  If a parent decides not to allow their child to watch a certain movie, read a particular piece of literature, attend a certain event, that should be a parent's decision, not the government, that is what the issue is here.

In my mind, this ruling by the court strips away the rights of parents to participate in their children's education, and instead replaces it with a socialist agenda.  The all-knowing government knows exactly how to brainwash children, just as many failed communist regimes of the past.

This is America, and we should have freedom to choose our own way of life, not one controlled by the government.  It's hard to be involved with a child's education as a parent if we have our rights stripped away, and we are not allowed to see what is going on in the classroom.

Over the years, our childrens' history books have been constantly rewritten to INCLUDE the contributions of people who were NOT white men. So, are we saying that we should have the right to remove your children from a history class which teaches about George Washington Carver or Rosa Parks, etc. just because we want to shield our children from those facts? I'm sorry, but, I've much more respect for and confidence in my smart 9 y.o. and 14 y.o. children that they can separate fiction from fact. Furthermore, I support the notion of our public schools teaching Darwinism. But, I also believe they should teach a non-denominational course to help children understand and respect why tens of millions of Americans believe God created man(instead of man simply evolving from a monkey).  Ignorance is NOT bliss!

you are simply amazing, the only point that most here are trying to make is that we don't want the government to control our lives or our children's lives, and while we may disagree with someone on this point we do not try to convince them that they are wrong and need straightening out.  You however seem to think that whoever does not follow your point of view needs to be thrown in a padded room with a straightjacket.

Do you not see the irony?

now, who want's to go ride?

Id@

If you you guys want to here it from a teenager then read my post if not move on to the next thread.  You guys are making such a fuss about what the schools are teaching our kids.  But the fact of life is that kids tell other kids info.  So by the time that the kids are ten the pretty much know everything. And if your 11 year old son asked where are babies from he already knows and he is just asking to get your reaction.

As far as I can remember you were not allowed to participate in any sexual education course at any grade level until your parent(s) signed a wavier.  The article didn't reflect whether or not they still used that method but if the public schools do require parental permission then how have the courts "stripped away" any parental rights?

" and this one time, at band camp......."

I could play music out my backside without a trumpet ;-)

Id@

I apolgize. My intent was to stimulate discussion, not nerves. But, that's difficult to do on emotional topics like these.

well i have no problem with the ruling. the problem is there are too many parents not teaching thier kids themselves so we tax payers get stuck with the results of ignorant kids screwing up. when people dont govern themselves the feds step in.

just my opinion.

jeff