Group claims bias in counseling materials

Last June, the Virginia-based Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) submitted a statement to the MCPS Board of Education and Superintendent Jerry Weast claiming that, in May, a parent had received information from a school counselor that promoted a single viewpoint on homosexuality.

In response, MCPS Associate Superintendent Carey Wright called two separate meetings in mid-September for all high school counselors and school psychologists to discuss a new directive prohibiting the distribution of written materials without prior county approval.

Blair's Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) sent a letter to Deputy Superintendent Frieda Lacey on Oct. 4 expressing their concerns that the policy would compromise an important outlet of support for gay students. As of Nov. 6, they had not received a reply. Lacey was unavailable for comment.

Principal Phillip Gainous does not support the policy because, he said, it could restrict counselors' ability to help students who are struggling with their sexual identities. He extended his support to the GSA in their efforts to protest the new regulation. "The counselors, of all people, need to be in a position to offer guidance and advice to students," he said.

New limitations

Counselors now require approval from the MCPS central office before they can distribute written materials to students or parents, according to Bonnie Cullison, president of the Montgomery County Education Association. MCPS is currently working to assemble a list of pre-approved sources from which counselors can obtain reliable information, Cullison said.

The meeting for counselors stressed the importance of accurate information regarding "gender-specific issues" and sexuality, according to Blair counselors Dwayne Thomas and Melba Battle, who attended the meeting.

No written statements have been produced regarding the new regulations, which Johnson and Battle believe may be due to MCPS administrators' reluctance to formalize the policy. Christina Webb, executive assistant to Lacey, denied the existence of an official policy addressing the written materials distributed by counselors.

According to Battle, the new directive was issued in response to a complaint from a parent who considered information provided by an MCPS counselor to be promoting one viewpoint of homosexuality over others.

PFOX complaints

Regina Griggs, executive director of PFOX, said that a parent contacted PFOX after the alleged incident occurred on May 17. Griggs said the information that the parent received included a list of web sites for "pro-gay" organizations and instructions for starting a gay-straight alliance in high school. She said that the counselor did not give any information presenting the viewpoint of "ex-gays" — the belief that people who define themselves as homosexual can later change their sexual orientation. PFOX said the information promoted a biased view of homosexuality.

Griggs would not disclose the name of the school at which the incident occurred.

On May 23, PFOX wrote to MCPS Director of Public Information Brian Edwards to request materials on sexual orientation and sexual identity. When they did not receive a response, PFOX wrote another letter on June 5 to MCPS School Counseling Services Supervisor Kent Weaver, the Board of Education and Superintendent Jerry Weast, calling the incident "a clear bias against credible viewpoints about former homosexuals."

Edwards responded to the May 23 letter on June 26, saying that the county had no official materials to distribute regarding sexuality. On Aug. 4, PFOX wrote back informing Edwards that "several parents" had received materials from counselors about homosexuality.

To ensure that students receive equal information, Griggs said that PFOX plans to distribute fliers to all MCPS students over the course of the school year. A new MCPS policy requires that all fliers produced by non-profit organizations only be distributed through MCPS during one set period per quarter. PFOX's flier, which contains information about the organization and their views on homosexuality, will be distributed during the next quarterly period at Quince Orchard. PFOX's ultimate goal is to distribute fliers regarding sexuality in all MCPS high schools, said Griggs.

Griggs said that PFOX is not satisfied with MCPS's new requirements for counselors. She proposed that specific, approved materials be mandatorily distributed to all students who request information to ensure that students receive all available, credible, pre-approved information. "I don't think we want to have to continually do legal battles to make sure children have all the information," she said.

PFOX sued MCPS in June 2005, to revise MCPS's proposed health curriculum, which PFOX claimed "contained resources that were factually incorrect, biased, opposed certain religious viewpoints, and did not present different scientifically based views on the subject of homosexuality," according to the June 5 letter. Griggs cited the counselor incident as another example of how MCPS has omitted valid viewpoints in its presentation of homosexuality to students.

An obligation to neutrality

Cullison explained that the new regulations aim to ensure objectivity. She said that while verbal conversations between a counselor and student are confidential and cannot be regulated, written information distributed by counselors should be neutral. As a public school system, MCPS has a legal obligation not to promote any one viewpoint over another. Ultimately, MCPS and its counselors all care about the well-being of students, she said. "The school system is really focused on what it has to do and tries to stay out of big social issues and avoid legal activity," she said.

GSA sponsor and social studies teacher Mary Thornton said that she is disappointed by MCPS's response to the PFOX complaints. "We keep backing down from lawsuits that we should stand up to and fight," she said. "We're supposed to stand for the students and their own pursuit of their fullest potential."

Thornton added that PFOX, based in Virginia, should not be involved in MCPS because they are not "stakeholders" in MCPS education.

Blair counselors agree that the new regulations serve a necessary purpose and that they do not feel restricted by the rule. Resource counselor Marcia Johnson said the meeting was a "reminder" rather than a real policy change. "We already knew that we need to make sure we get approved information, as opposed to information from agencies that are not established," she said.

Thomas said that he understood the meeting as a discussion of how counselors can be better prepared to deal with issues like homosexuality.

Before the meeting, counselors often did not know what kind of information to give students who request literature on sensitive issues, Battle said. She hopes that MCPS compiles the list of approved sources, which would be a helpful resource for all MCPS counselors.

Concern for students

GSA President Avi Edelman is concerned that gay students will not get the guidance they need because of the limitations on counselors and psychologists. "Being gay in high school is such a tough thing," Edelman said. "[The new MCPS regulation is] something that should really concern students. To me, it's saying that a bureaucratic process is more important than the concerns of the students."

Gainous read the GSA's letter and supports the club's efforts to protest the policy, which he worries will eliminate an important source of support for students. "We've got all these young people seeking answers in the street when we could be the ones responding to their individual needs," he said.

Norman Aaronson, an education law professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, said that MCPS is legally entitled to require information distributed by counselors to be approved by the county. Aaronson cited the Supreme Court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier for giving the school system the power to control the information distributed to students. "As long as they can relate it to legitimate concerns, the school system can control information that's disseminated through employees," he said.