19 Fulton Street, Suite 407

New York, NY 10038

Joan E. Bertin
Executive Director

tel: (212) 807-6222

fax: (212) 807-6245
email: ncac@ncac.org
web: www.ncac.org

NCAC PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATIONS
Actors Equity Association
American Association of
School Administrators
American Association of
University Professors
American Association of
University Women

BY ELECTRONIC MAIL

American Booksellers Foundation

for Free Expression
American Civil Liberties Union

Superintendent Susan Bunting

Indian River School District Curriculum Subcommittee for Health
31 Hosier Street
Selbyville, DE 19975

American Ethical Union

American Federation of Teachers
American Jewish Committee
American Library Association
American Literary Translators
Association
American Orthopsychiatric Association

December 1, 2014

American Society of Journalists

& Authors
Americans United for Separation of
Church & State

Dear Dr. Bunting and the Curriculum Subcommittee for Health:

Association of American Publishers

Authors Guild
Catholics for Choice

As organizations concerned with the integrity of the public education system and the
application of First Amendment law and principles in public institutions, we have been
following the controversy around the proposed middle and high school health
curriculum in Indian River School District. We urge the subcommittee to issue
recommendations ensuring that students have access to accurate, scientifically sound
health information. To deny students such information because of anyones religious or
other personal belief-based objections would raise serious First Amendment concerns
and, in turn, compromise our public education system and potentially expose students
to unnecessary and significant health risks.
We understand that School Board member Shaun Fink has called for the removal of
units from the health curriculum that discuss homosexuality and bisexuality, and for the
elimination of units that teach about HIV, STD, and pregnancy prevention. Mr. Fink is
clear that his proposal is based on his personal religious beliefs. However, this is not an
adequate, or even legally permissible, basis to justify removal of the materials, and doing
so would not be in the best interests of students in the district.

Childrens Literature Association

College Art Association
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
The Creative Coalition
Directors Guild of America
Dramatists Guild of America
Dramatists Legal Defense Fund
Educational Book & Media Association
First Amendment Lawyers Association
International Reading Association
Lambda Legal
Modern Language Association
National Center for Science Education
National Communication Association
National Council for the Social Studies
National Council of Churches
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Teachers of English
National Education Association
National Youth Rights Association
The Newspaper Guild/CWA
PEN American Center
People For the American Way

The main objection against the materials is that, by presenting non-heterosexual

orientations as normal, they introduce bias, if only in the sense that they take a
position with which some disagree. No matter how controversial or unacceptable
homosexuality may be to certain religious dogma or creed, there is no similar
controversy in the scientific community, where homosexuality is considered normal
rather than pathological. Indeed, same-sex sexual attractions, behavior, and orientations
do not indicate either mental or developmental disorders. APA Task Force on
Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. (2009). Report of the Task
Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
The mission of any educational curriculum, including a health curriculum, is to provide
instruction that reflects and incorporates the best available knowledge. HealthSmart, the
educational tool in question, is used widely in elementary, middle, and high schools

Planned Parenthood Federation

of America
Project Censored
SAG-AFTRA
Sexuality Information & Education
Council of the U.S.
Society of Childrens Book Writers
& Illustrators
Student Press Law Center
Union for Reform Judaism
Union of Democratic Intellectuals
Unitarian Universalist Association
United Church of Christ
Office of Communication
United Methodist Church
United Methodist Communications
Womens American ORT
Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance
Writers Guild of America, East
Writers Guild of America, West

across the country, aligning with the Center for Disease Controls Health Education Curriculum Analysis
Tool, Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, National Health Education Standards, and
National Sexuality Education Standards.
Suppressing information about HIV, STDs, and contraception would not only undermine the quality of
education and students rights, it would also potentially expose students to serious health risks:
Comprehensive sexual education is extremely important in view of the threat of HIV/AIDS
and sexually transmitted diseases .. [T]he Committee on the Rights of the Child has
emphasized that effective HIV/AIDS prevention requires States to refrain from censoring,
withholding or intentionally misrepresenting health-related information, including sexual
education and information, and that [...] States parties must ensure that children have the
ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others as they begin to
express their sexuality.
Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education. United Nations General
Assembly, July 23, 2010.
http://www.wunrn.com/news/2010/10_10/10_11_10/101110_sr_files/SR%20Education%20ReportHuman%20Right%20to%20Sexual%20Education.pdf. See also
http://ncac.org/resource/abstinence-only-joint-statement-opposition/.
Educational considerations require neutrality in matters of belief, since the effort to eliminate everything
that is objectionable will leave public education in shreds. Nothing but educational confusion and a
discrediting of the public school system can result. McCollum v. Board of Education 333 U.S. 203, 235
(1948) (Jackson, J., concurring.) Efforts to impose particular viewpoints about sex and to prohibit
discussion of controversial but factually accurate information or ideas constitute a particularly
dangerous form of censorship.
It is well established that [p]ublic schools are not obliged to shield individual students from ideas which
potentially are religiously offensive, particularly when the school imposes no requirement that the student
agree with or affirm those ideas, or even participate in discussions about them. Parker v. Hurley, 514 F.3d
87, 106 (1st Cir 2008) (and see cases cited therein). On the other hand, removal of material for ideological
reasons potentially exposes a school to legal challenge. See Monteiro v. Tempe Union High School District, 158
F.3d 1022, 1029 (9th Cir. 1998) (recognizing the First Amendment right of students to read books selected
for their legitimate educational value), Parker v. Hurley, supra (rejecting effort to remove books that offend
parents and students religious beliefs), Pratt v. Independent School Dist. No. 831 , 670 F. 2d 771 (8th Cir.
1982) (First Amendment violated when films removed because of hostility to content and message), and
Case v. Unified School Dist. No. 233, 908 F. Supp. 864 (D. Kan. 1995) (First Amendment violated by
removing a book from school library based on hostility to its ideas.)
Mr. Finks call to eliminate parts of the curriculum that discuss homosexuality and bisexuality, and educate
students about HIV, STD, and pregnancy prevention, is based on his religious beliefs. As a result, acceding
to his demands would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It would prefer one
specific religious viewpoint on sexuality over other conflicting views, which the Indian River School District
may not do. The Establishment Clause bars the government from endorsing any religion, and this
preclude[s] government from conveying or attempting to convey a message that religion or a particular
religious belief is favored or preferred."County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573, 593 (1989) (quoting
Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38, 70 (1989) (O'Connor, J., concurring in judgment) (emphasis omitted).
Not only would removing the materials undermine education and violate First Amendment principles, it
would also send a chilling message to the school districts LGBTQ students, parents, and community
members. Our courts have ruled that decisions about school materials should serve all students in the

school. Does that not include LGBTQ students? Public schools have an obligation to administer school
curricula responsive to the overall educational needs of the community and its children. Leebaert v.
Harrington, 332 F.3d 134, 141 (2nd Cir. 2003). According to the Centers for Disease Control, Negative
attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people put these youth at increased risk for experiences
with violence, compared with other students.LGBTQ youth are also at increased risk for suicidal thoughts
and behaviors, suicide attempts, and suicide. http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm. The proposal to
delete certain material from the health curriculum, based on the view that LGBTQ students are not
normal, would only serve to stigmatize such students and expose them to increased harassment and
other harms.
Denying these students sexual health information beneficial to them, while providing health information
beneficial to heterosexual students, would also violate Delawares anti-discrimination law. That law bars
any place of public accommodation, including local government agencies such as school districts, from
withholding any advantages or privileges provided by the agency on the basis of sexual orientation. 6 Del.
C. 4502, 4504. The district may not single out those students for denial of health information.
We urge you to abide by the Delaware anti-discrimination law and Delaware Regulations on Health
Education, which emphasize the importance of comprehensive approaches to sexuality and HIV prevention
education. These regulations ensure that decisions about the health curriculum are made along
scientifically and educationallysound grounds, rather than in response to complaints reflecting particular
moral or religious beliefs. Compliance with these legal mandates would guarantee that the district offers a
curriculum that equips students with the necessary knowledge to navigate their adult lives.
Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Joan Bertin, Executive Director
National Coalition Against Censorship

Kathleen MacRae, Executive Director

American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware

Barry W. Lynn, Executive Director

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Chris Finan, President

American Booksellers Foundation For Free
Expression

Barbara M. Jones, Director

American Library Association's Office for Intellectual
Freedom

Susanna Reich, Chair

Children's and Young Adult Book Committee
PEN American Center

Charles Brownstein, Executive Director

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Lin Oliver, Executive Director

Society of Children's Book Writers &
Illustrators

Cc:
Superintendent Susan S. Bunting,
susan.bunting@irsd.k12.de.us
Director of Curriculum and Instruction LouAnn
Hudson,
louann.hudson@irsd.k12.de.us