Board Bows to Honig, Revises View on Gays

The state Board of Education Wednesday approved advisory guidelines on sex education after bowing to a demand by Bill Honig, state superintendent of public instruction, that a section on homosexuality affirm “the dignity of all individuals.”

Honig sharply criticized last-minute revisions of the statement on homosexuals by a board committee, and threatened to issue a separate set of guidelines of his own if his demand were not met.

“I think they made the changes that were necessary,” Honig said after some of the language he wanted was approved by a 6-4 vote.

Parents on Picket Line

The meeting was picketed by two dozen parents and children from groups advocating support for the heterosexual nuclear family.

The guidelines approved by the 11-member board are not mandatory. Local school boards are free to adopt, amend or discard them, Honig said.

The core of the two-hour debate was wording of a section dealing with evaluation of educational materials on homosexuality.

An ad hoc drafting committee headed by board member Jim C. Robinson left intact the first part of one sentence that began: “Family values and monogamous, heterosexual relationships are affirmed throughout the program.” The committee deleted the last part of the same sentence, which read, “. . . as well as respect and tolerance for the individual regardless of sexual preference.”

Honig objected, insisting that language on tolerance and respect for individual rights was especially needed in the section on homosexuality.

“This is a very divisive issue,” Honig said. “You are trying to promulgate family values, but you want children to be hostile to 10% of the population.”