Date: Tue, 18 Jun 1996 06:38:06 -0700 (PDT) From: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: NH STATE SENATOR ROBERGE REMARKS ERODE CITIZENSHIP AND SCHOOL SAFETY || Call to Alaska activists FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- June 17, 1996 For more information, contact: Knox Turner -- (603) 463-5608 ROBERGE REMARKS ERODE CITIZENSHIP AND SCHOOL SAFETY GLSTN/NH Objects to Anti-Gay, Anti-Government Statement Northwood, NH -- In the Manchester Union Leader, on May 21, 1996, State Senator Sheila Roberge made the following remarks concerning the Supreme Court decision in Evans vs. Romer. Asserting that the landmark decision on gay rights would have no impact in New Hampshire, she said, "I don't view homosexuality as an acceptable lifestylex. That legislation has come to New Hampshire and been defeated." ROBERGE OFFENDS GAYS, FRIENDS, AND FAMILIES The Gay Lesbian and Straight Teachers Network of New Hampshire (GLSTN/NH) regards this statement as offensive to the basic values of American citizenship, and to Sen. Roberge's lesbian and gay constituents -- along with their friends and families. The US Supreme Court clearly affirmed the Fourteenth Amendment rights of all citizens to equal protection of the laws, and the right to participate in the political process. Sen. Roberge plainly stated that, because she disapproves of lesbians and gays, they should have no rights. She implies that she is pleased that the NH Senate has not passed equal protection legislation, thus defying the basic intent of the Supreme Court decision. For an elected official to scoff at the validity of a US Supreme Court decision is unseemly at best. Does she believe that NH is beyond the jurisdiction of the US Supreme Court? CHILLING MESSAGE TO YOUTH More to the point, Sen. Roberge, as a member of the Education Committee of the NH Senate, has sent a chilling message to school boards, administrators, faculty, students, and parents. If a member of the Education Committee denounces homosexuality per se, calling it an unacceptable lifestyle, how can schools in New Hampshire develop a safe and accepting learning environment for all students? ARBITRARY EXCLUSION AND HATE CRIMES Adolescents of all sexual orientations need the loving help and support of their schools, classmates, and communities as they grow and mature into adults. To single out an arbitrary group and deny it fair and equal protection of the laws constitutes the classic definition of discrimination. To characterize that group as ineligible for inclusion in our society and government, is to encourage hate speech and destructive behavior. Knox Turner, State Chair of GLSTN/NH observed, "That is not an example of responsible public discourse from a member of the Education Committee of the NH Senate. GLSTN/NH has grave concerns about the effects of Sen. Roberge's remarks in the schools of our state, and on our youth." THE HUMAN PRICE OF OPPRESSION: TEEN SUICIDE GLSTN/NH works to ensure that schools are places where all people are respected and valued, regardless of sexual orientation. Turner said, "We urge Sen. Roberge to consider the devastating effects of her remarks on all adolescents struggling to understand their sexuality and that of their friends. We remind her that over 30 percent of completed teenage suicides are by gays and lesbians, often after multiple attempts." INCREASED TENSIONS OR FOCUS ON EDUCATION? At Mascenic High School, in New Ipswich, teacher Penny Culliton was fired by the school board on an insubstantial charge of insubordination because she used textbooks with lesbian and gay characters purchased by the school board. After binding arbitration, Culliton was reinstated, but the school board is appealing the decision of the arbitrator. As a member of the Education Committee, Sen. Roberge has not contributed to easing tensions in that school district. Her remarks only perpetuate and inflame the difficulties. HOMOPHOBIA AND POLITICS IN SENATE DISTRICT 9 Sen. Roberge is well aware of the problems that homophobic statements can cause. For example, in Bedford, where she lives, homophobia recently was used as a political weapon. The outcome of the recent school board election was heavily influenced by a last-minute campaign of homophobic literature and phone calls. In Merrimack, a neighboring town in Sen. Roberge's district, the school board forced passage of the most severely restrictive anti-gay policy in the country. Written by Rev. Lou Sheldon, of the California-based Traditional Values Coalition, the language failed in the US Senate in 1994 when it was sponsored by Senators Bob Smith and Jesse Helms. So serious and far-reaching were the effects of the Sheldon-Ager (Smith-Helms) policy that a group of parents filed suit in US District Court, claiming violation of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. ROBERGE REJECTS THE VOTERS OF MERRIMACK Against that volatile background in her own district, Sen. Roberge spoke in apparent defiance of a closely related US Supreme Court decision. "In the Evans vs. Romer decision," commented Turner, "the Supreme Court unmistakably said that the Fourteenth Amendment applies to everyone. The Merrimack case, which raises several Fourteenth Amendment issues, has not even gone to trial, but Sen. Roberge could not wait to voice her opposition to the Evans vs. Romer decision, and its implications for a school system in her district. She has sent a hostile message to the voters of Merrimack, who rejected the homophobic policy with a super-majority (68 percent) mandate in the largest turnout in town election history." TROUBLING ASSOCIATIONS AND LOCAL INTERVENTION Sen. Roberge has interfered even more directly in local control of the Merrimack school board. She participated in fund-raising activities for defeated school board candidate Ginny Cadarette, who supported the anti-gay policy. Cadarette's campaign manager, Bert Tenhave, had previously described the election as "the Christian Coalition vs. the gay agenda." Among the other participants in Cadarette's fundraising activities were Christian Coalition activist Shelly Uscinski, and Chuck Douglas, who had conducted a highly flattering interview of Lou Sheldon on his television program, Right For New Hampshire. Sen. Roberge's personal involvement and support for the extreme religious right agenda raise troubling questions. THE MOST DISTURBING QUESTION: DOES CITIZENSHIP MATTER? When a state Senator, in this case one who sits on the Senate Education Committee, states publicly that a US Supreme Court decision has no impact on New Hampshire, the logical question to ask is: What message does that send to New Hampshire schools about the responsibilities of US citizenship? "We are a nation of laws," concluded Turner. "It is quite clear from Senator Roberge's remarks that she holds in contempt that fundamental principle of American government." END -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Calling Alaska activists. Tired of the assaults upon LGBT equal rights (e.g. re university partner benefits)? It's time to educate the educational policy makers, to advocate for an-LGBT inclusive curriculum. The Alaska Constitution guarantees a free education for all school-age children. Alaska's schools are governed as follows: the seven-member State Board of Education, appointed by the governor, sets education policy and appoints a commissioner of education. Two additional board members, representing the military community and students, have advisory votes. Alaska's public schools are organized within 54 school districts or Regional Educational Attendance Areas. A separate elected school board sits at the head of each district. (info on obtaining list of all 54 districts appears below). Local boards work within state guidelines to determine hiring procedures, curriculum and basic policies for their district. The Home Page for the Alaska Department of Education is located at: http://www.educ.state.ak.us/ A list of members of the state board of education can be found at http://www.educ.state.ak.us/State_Board\home.html [those without web access can email and ask to be sent the list of Alaska state school board members] Public schools in Alaska serve about 122,000 students, meaning about 12,000 could be LGBT. Of those schools 467 were operated by the 54 local school districts and the remaining two - Alyeska Central School and Mt. Edgecumbe High School were operated by the Department of Education. The fifty-four Alaska school districts vary in size from over 45,000 students in the Anchorage District, to 16 students attending the two Aleutian Region Schools. Thirty-three of the districts are city or borough entities, while 21 regional educational attendance area districts serve students in rural and remote settlements outside the cities and boroughs of the state. Commissioner is Shirley J. Holloway, Ph.D. Alaska s first woman commissioner of education, she was appointed commissioner on March 1, 1995. Key contact person is Harry Gamble, Education Administrator, or Mark Kissel, State DOE, 801 W. 10th St., Juneau AK 99801; phone= 907-465-2851. From Gamble you can get a free current listing of the state's 54 school districts. There are no written policies concerning curriculum adoption. Neither are there any mandated guidelines for the districts to follow. **Materials to be considered for adoption need to be submitted to individual districts. **The governing body of each of the 54 individual districts adopts, in the manner required by A 14.14.100(a), a curriculum which describes what will be taught students in grades kindergarten through 12. **Local district governing bodies also are required to conduct planning, assessement, and evaluation, as per 4 AAC 05.070. **Each of these areas asterisked above provides an arena for local activists to get involved in shaping public education in Alaska to be more inclusive of LGBT concerns. *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ OK TO RE-POST. Jessea Greenman The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) CHECK THIS OUT FOR TONS OF INFO - - http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ Please cc us (for our files) on correspondence you send or receive re our action alerts.