-------------------
[re parental rights initiative...while according to NPR on weds. sept. 11, the state teachers' association has taken a public position against this initiative in good measure because of the havoc the initiative, if passed, would wreak on school curricula, the CO State Board of Ed hasn't yet taken a position yet. those wishing to write to the CO State Board of Ed urging them to oppose the "parental rights" initiative (which would also be bad for LGBT students) may reach the Board at
Public Notice - All Board meetings are open to the public.
Agenda - The State Board's meeting agenda and a report of Board actions are prepared by the Director for State Board Relations in collaboration with the Chairman of the Board and the Commissioner of Education. The agenda and a report of Board actions from the previous month are sent to Board members, Department of Education employees, school districts, and other interested parties prior to each regular meeting.
OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THE BOARD
A sign-up sheet is provided on the day of the Board meeting for all persons wishing to address the Board on issues NOT on the agenda. Speakers are called in the order in which they sign up. Each participant begins by stating his/her name, address and organization for the taped record.
A maximum of one half hour is set aside for public comment. The State Board Chairman will announce the time limit for speakers, usually five minutes or less. Participants wishing to express their views more fully are encouraged to write to the Board or call 303-866-6817 ]
[p.s. The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project would LOVE to hear more from Coloradans about this initiative.]
CO Ballot Includes 'Parents Rights'
DENVER -- Conservative groups hailed Colorado's attorney general for adding last week a parental-rights amendment in the ballot that places the state in the middle of a national debate over values, the Washington Times reports.
The Coalition for Parental Responsibility in Denver, the Times said, spent much of the summer collection more than 80,000 signatures to get a parental rights amendment on the November ballot.
Come November, voters in Colorado will decide whether to add a clause declaring that parents have the right "to direct and control the upbringing, education, values and discipline of their children." Supporters of the amendment, the Times said, said that they hope one day to see them approved in all 50 states.
Civil libertarians and those who represent family-planning and feminist causes say the amendments are unnecessary because parents already have the rights to raise their children.
"It really denies the rights of the child," James Joy, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, told the Times. "It makes them the property of parents and gives parents a license to abuse them in any way those parents might wish."
The long-term impact of the amendment, said the Protect Our Children Coalition, would be to disrupt adoptions, public education, child protection and health care.
In Congress, parental rights bills had been introduced in the House and Senate, but both are likely to die this session, the Times said.
But parental rights will be a "top social priority of the Republican-led 105th Congress," said Nick Thimmesch, an aide to Rep. Steve Largent, an Oklahoma Republican, a lead sponsor of the House bill.
Since 1994, the Times said, nearly 30 states have considered some kind of parental-rights bills, but none have approved an amendment.
-------------------
-------------------
Last updated 9/13/96 by Jean Richter, richter@eecs.Berkeley.EDU