February 3, 2015
Anoka-Hennepin School Board Meeting
This following Anti-Bullying recommendation will be presented
to the Anoka-Hennepin School Board meeting
on Monday, February 23rd, at 6:30 pm.
On Monday, March 9th, the Board will vote.
| Honor and celebrate the contributions of diverse people and families in our community, country, and world, including the LGBT community.In an effort to affirm and celebrate the diversity represented by district students, families, and employees, the Task Force recommends Anoka-Hennepin Schools recognize, affirm, and assess specific LGBT activities including, but not limited to, continuing to support student-led Gay Straight Alliance clubs; hosting school-related family nights for our diverse populations, including LGBT families and LGBT students and their parents; and creating public displays honoring LGBT history month each October beginning in 2014. |
If you do not honor, celebrate, and affirm LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) activities, are you a bully?
Minnesota’s largest school district, Anoka-Hennepin (A-H), is now considering its precedent-setting Anti-Bullying directives from their Anti-Bullying Task Force. Their proposed recommendations to the School Board say that you must honor, affirm, and celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender activities in the school. (Read our background ALERTS here and here. Their five recommendations may be viewed here.)
As one parent noted at earlier public testimony, Recommendation #3 is not about respect, compassion, kindness and tolerance. Rather, it forces allegiance to a strident and dangerous political and social agenda. Not only does it fail to protect students from genuine bullying, the school becomes the bully.
The promoters of this “diversity” are making every effort to force their personal creed upon us all, regardless if that creed is deeply offensive. [Previous testimony may be seen by clicking here, beginning at minute 4:00.]
Respect and kindness toward one another, regardless of our disagreements, does prevent bullying. Coercion to affirm, honor, and celebrate, however, becomes bullying itself.
To make their case, supporters of this “anti-bullying” recommendation resort to name-calling: haters, meanies, bullies. This is the very thing our children will be subjected to should they dare to refuse to honor and celebrate LGBT activities and should this recommendation pass.
Students ought to be recognized for their talents and accomplishments, not for their sexual behaviors. All students need to be treated with respect and kindness, regardless of personal disagreements.
Before the 2014 Minnesota Bullying Bill passed, Child Protection League Action blew the whistle about its intent, that the proposed legislation wasn’t about bullying. Rather, its purpose was to indoctrinate our children and our community into affirming and celebrating all sexual activities, no matter how unsafe. (View which House Members voted “Yes” to the Bullying Bill here. View Senate vote here.)
Unfortunately, the controversial A-H Task Force Recommendation #3 demonstrates we were right. This same debate is headed to all school districts in Minnesota, courtesy of the new Bullying Law. It is in your interest to be involved.
Recommendation #3 will be presented to the Anoka-Hennepin School Board meeting on Monday, February 23rd, at 6:30 pm. Public testimony (less than 3 minutes) will be taken from concerned citizens. School Board contact information, especially for those within the A-H School District, may be found here.
School Board meetings are at the Sandburg Education Center (1902 Second Avenue in Anoka). If you wish to express your concerns (respectfully, of course), arrive early to fill out a yellow card.