The ACLU recently made news by filing federal complaints with the U.S. Department of Education against two Wisconsin school districts, alleging that their same-sex classroom programs are illegal. The ACLU claims that the programs violate Title IX, which explicitly permits same-sex classrooms if certain criteria are met. The ACLU has an entire campaign devoted to fighting against same-sex education in public schools.
That gave me pause. The ACLU is, of course, one of the major proponents of forcing governments to recognize same-sex marriages and give them protection and benefits. But they oppose optional programs to provide a government education in same-sex settings?
Education and marriage aren’t closely related enough to call these disparate positions hypocritical, but the irony was enough to raise my eyebrows. If people should be allowed to voluntarily enter into same-sex relationships to receive government benefits, why shouldn’t people be allowed to voluntarily enter into same-sex classrooms to receive a government education?
I agree with the Beloit Daily News that the ACLU is off base here. Giving parents and children more choices in education is a good thing. I would not push every child into same-sex classrooms, but the status quo of American education is failing our children, who continue to fall in global rankings. Experimentation into alternative methods of education will help develop new and better methods of teaching, and school districts should be free to try new techniques without harassment from the PC crowd.