asheris

Louisiana school punishes 7-year-old for talking about lesbian mother
Associated Press
Published December 2, 2003 (StarTribune.com)

LAFAYETTE, LA. -- A 7-year-old boy was scolded and forced to write "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again" after he told a classmate about his lesbian mother, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alleged Monday.

Second-grader Marcus McLaurin was waiting for recess Nov. 11 at Ernest Gaullet Elementary School in Lafayette when a classmate asked about Marcus' mother and father, the ACLU said in a complaint.

Marcus responded he had two mothers because his mother is gay. When the other child asked for explanation, Marcus told him: "Gay is when a girl likes another girl."

A teacher who heard the remark scolded Marcus, telling him "gay" was a "bad word" and sending him to the principal's office. Marcus had to come to school early and repeatedly write: "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again."

The ACLU is demanding that the case be removed from Marcus' file and that the school apologize to the boy and his mother, Sharon Huff.

"I was concerned when the assistant principal called and told me my son had said a word so bad that he didn't want to repeat it over the phone," Huff said. "But that was nothing compared to the shock I felt when my little boy came home and told me that his teacher had told him his family is a dirty word."

More details, such as the boy also being sent to a school behavioral clinic for having used the word "gay", can be found at the ACLU's website. You can also see the "Student Behavior Contract" that was sent home with the boy, and the school's Incident Report, a copy of which was also sent home with him.

The Sarasota HeraldTribune includes a comment from the superintendant:

Lafayette Parish Schools Superintendent James Easton said that the child wasn't disciplined for using the word gay.

"It was an inappropriate description of personal activity," Easton said. "I don't know exactly what was said, but that is what was reported to me."

Easton said that the issue will be investigated seriously before the district responds to the ACLU's complaint.

"It would surprise me if that accusation is accurate," he said. "A child can't be disciplined for using the term gay. If one were, it would be a violation of their rights."

(Sounds like the super needs to take a look at the forms his staff sent home to the boy's mother before he says anything else.)