The grandparents of a 12-year-old student who says she was forced to watch the R-rated, gay-themed movie Brokeback Mountain at school have filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, the grandparents of Jessica Turner, are seeking close to $500,000 in damages for psychological distress and false imprisonment.
According to court documents, a substitute teacher told students at Ashburn Community Elementary School, “What happens in Ms. Buford’s class stays in Ms. Buford’s class.” The suit claims Buford then shut the classroom door and showed the film about two cowboys involved in a homosexual affair.
“It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this,” Kenneth Richardson said. “The teacher knew she was not supposed to do this.”
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said he's seen many news reports in recent months about elementary students being forced to take sex surveys or read pro-homosexual materials.
“As government schools continue to be controlled by liberal educators, this encroachment upon parental rights will intensify,” he said. “The Chicago situation is similar.”
The Supreme Court has recognized parental rights, Hausknecht said, including rights to be involved in all aspects of public education.
“Unfortunately, of late, we have seen federal courts limiting those rights by coming to the aid of school districts that make outrageous detours,” he said, “granting cover to such activity by buying into the notion that it is all ‘curriculum related.’ ”
