By Lisa Leff Associated Press October 28, 2008
San Francisco - A Bay Area elementary school got caught in the crossfire of a ballot initiative seeking to outlaw same-sex marriage in California on Tuesday after a kindergarten teacher asked her pupils to sign pledge cards promising not to use anti-gay slurs.
ProtectMarriage.com, the coalition of social and religious conservative groups sponsoring Proposition 8, offered the episode at Faith Ringgold Elementary School in Hayward as proof for its claim that the measure is needed to prevent public schools from discussing gay unions with students.
"Since the words 'between a man and a woman' have been taken out of the California laws, it has created a can opener for gay activists to take this kind of curriculum into our elementary schools - not 9th grade, not 12th grade, but kindergarten," said campaign spokeswoman Sonya Eddings Brown.
Produced by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, the cards were given to the children as part of Faith Ringgold elementary's commemoration of National Ally Week, an event sponsored by the network and designed to discourage harassment of gay teenagers.
"I am taking a stand for a safe and harassment-free school for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression," read the pledges. "As an ally, I pledge to not use anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) language or slurs."
Several parents of the kindergartners kept their children out of school and contacted a public interest law firm that has been participating in the effort to pass the gay marriage ban, according to Eddings Brown.
In the closing weeks of the contentious ballot race, Proposition 8's supporters have made what schools may teach about legal same-sex marriage a central message of their campaign.
Opponents of the measure, including California's elected schools chief, say that's deceptive because schools already are required to teach tolerance of gays and lesbians under the state's comprehensive anti-bullying law, and the ballot measure won't change that.
"What happened in Hayward has nothing to do with Prop. 8," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, the state's largest gay rights group. "Schools have been teaching about inclusion and anti-bullying for years."
The Hayward Unified School District issued a statement last week backing that point.
"The Faith Ringgold teacher planned to teach students how to become an ally and conflict mediation," the statement reads. "We apologize for any misunderstandings, however, we support curriculum that teaches the diversity of our society and complies with all state laws."
School district spokeswoman Val Joyner did not return a telephone call from The Associated Press. But Joyner told The (Hayward) Daily Review that the pledge cards given the kindergartners were meant for students in middle school and beyond. The district plans to review materials used for National Ally Week more carefully in the future, she said.
"It was a mistake, and there was no intention to get anyone riled up," Joyner told the Daily Review. "However, this one mishap did happen and we will evaluate the materials being used for National Ally Week to make sure they are appropriate for all grade levels."
ProtectMarriage.com used the incident to challenge California Superintendent Public Instruction Jack O'Connell to a debate on Proposition 8's connection to schools. O'Connell has appeared in television ads for the No on 8 campaign in which he accused the initiative's backers of using "scare tactics and lies to bolster their campaign."
The No on 8 campaign declined the debate offer on Tuesday, saying "it would be a disservice to the people of California to debate an issue that is completely unrelated to Proposition 8."
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