The superintendent of Janesville schools is apologizing, after high school students were shown a video about gay marriage that attracted criticism for being too biased.
Some students at Janesville Craig High School were shown the video, titled “Kids React to Gay Marriage,” during a National Day of Silence observation. The nationwide events are meant to generate discussions about bullying. Sponsors of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance showed the 16-minute video, which was approved by the principal.
Superintendent Karen Schulte says concerns were raised that the video was biased towards a pro-gay marriage point of view, violating a district policy that requires material about controversial topics that are shown to students to also offer opposing viewpoints.
School Board member Bill Sodemann says he contacted the superintendent about the video after hearing complaints. He says the policy is meant to protect both sides of an issue, noting that the school would likely also draw fire for showing a video that tipped to the other side of the gay marriage debate. Sodemann says schools should not be used as a place of politics or to allow a captive audience to be “force fed propaganda.”
Schulte says the district will be reviewing its policy on controversial subject matter.
WCLO