Contact: Pacific Justice Institute, 916-857-6900

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 30 /Standard Newswire/ -- With the school year getting underway throughout the country, attorneys from the Pacific Justice Institute have prepared a "Watch List" of rights and opportunities parents should keep in mind for interacting with public schools.  In keeping with the age-old advice that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," the following action list can be remembered by the acronym PREVENTION: 

1. Participate in school site committees.  Parents have strategic opportunities to serve as "gatekeepers" in their schools to stop anti-family curricula before it becomes a problem.
2. Review curricula.  Parents can find out what will be taught to their child before it is taught.  Parents should also be vigilant about movies in class, since some districts allow vulgar, even R-rated films to be shown in class without parental notification.
3. Express faith through homework assignments.  Students can use many types of assignments to express their faith, for example, writing a book report from the Bible or Torah.
4. Volunteer in the classroom.  Working with--not against--educators helps build bridges and makes it easier for parents to raise concerns when they need to.
5. Encourage extra-curricular Bible clubs.  Programs such as Child Evangelism Fellowship and student-led high school groups can make a tremendous difference in a student's spiritual growth.
6. Neutralize pro-homosexual propaganda.  Events such as the pro-gay "Day of Silence" can be effectively countered with a "Day of Truth."
7. Teach sex education at home.  In California and many other states, parents have the right to exempt their children from comprehensive sexual education.
8. Immunize children in accordance with religious beliefs.  Regardless of the insistence of school officials, parents are not required to immunize their children if it violates their conscience.
9. Object to textbooks at both the local and state levels.  PJI can assist parents in formally challenging the adoption or use of inappropriate textbooks.
10. Never Tolerate Religious Bias.  Through the years, PJI has heard many shocking accounts of school assignments, ranging from required memorization from the Qur'an to field trips to Hindu temples, to projects constructing miniature altars with candles and photos of deceased ancestors for Day of the Dead.  Such assignments likely breach the school's duty to be religiously neutral.
     

For more information on implementing any of these action items, please contact Pacific Justice Institute. 

The Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties.
P.O. Box 276600   Sacramento, CA 95827-6600  Phone: (916) 857-6900  Fax (916) 857-6902   Internet:  www.pacificjustice.org