Alameda LGBT Opt-Out letter
 
Greetings,

If you are a parent of a child who will be enrolled in AUSD schools for the 2009-2010 school year in grades K-5, you may wish to opt-out your child from the LGBT curriculum recently passed by the board.  Attached is a simple opt-out letter that you can use. Please fill it out completely, sign your name and send it to the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), care of Kevin Snider. 

PJI will send in your letter to the District for you.  The goal is for PJI to submit at least 100 opt-out letters to the District.  As such, if you have friends and acquaintances who have children enrolled in AUSD schools for the 2009-2010 school year in grades K-5, please forward this email and letter to them.

Please note that the District may not honor your request to opt-out.  If this occurs PJI will file administrative complaints with the District as well as a lawsuit, if necessary, to enable the parents to opt-out.  PJI’s attorneys will represent the parents without charge.  It is important that we reach our goal of 100 parents. 

If you do not want to have PJI represent you, but wish to try and opt your child out of the LGBT curriculum, then simply send in the letter directly to the District.  Please note that by forwarding the letter to PJI to submit the letter for you, you are agreeing to have PJI represent you before the school and in court.

The signed letter should be sent to:

Kevin Snider, Chief Counsel
PACIFIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE 
If by fax: 916-857-6902. 
If by email: kevinsnider@pacificjustice.org. 
If by mail:  212 9th, Oakland, CA 94607

Finally, please note that this is one of several ways that concerned members of the community are doing to protect the rights of parents to raise their children as they deem appropriate.  We hope that you will help in each way that you can.

Opt-Out letter Instructions:

  1. Email this letter to all of your friendly contacts who will have children enrolled in AUSD schools for the 2009-2010 school year in grades K-5.
     
  2. Encourage them to forward this to their friends and acquaintances who will have children enrolled in AUSD schools for the 2009-2010 school year in grades K-5.
     
  3. Instruct them to:
     
    1. Copy and Paste the Opt-Out letter for Parents below into Microsoft(TM)
      Word(TM) ( or your word processing application ).        Fill the letter out
    2. Sign it 
    3. Send the signed letter to Kevin Snider. 
      If by fax: 916-857-6902 
      If by email:       kevinsnider@pacificjustice.org 
      If by mail:  212 9th Street, Suite 208 Oakland, CA 94607
       
    4. In the email to the parents, let them know that by sending it to Kevin Snider of Pacific Justice Institute, they are agreeing to have PJI represent them along with all the other parents who send in these letters.  PJI will represent the parents, whether in an administrative hearing or in court, without charge.
    5. If they do not want PJI to represent them, then the parent should deliver the letter directly to the school either by fax, mail, or hand delivery.
    6. The goal is to get a minimum of 100 parents to send in this opt-out letter.


      Opt-Out letter for Parents

                                          [insert parent name]
                                         [insert parent address]
                                      [insert parent phone number]
                                      [insert parent email address]

      [insert date]

      Kirsten Vital, Superintendent
      Alameda Unified School District
      2200 Central Avenue
      Alameda, CA. 94501
      Fax:  (510) 522-6926 

      Re: Notice to Opt-Out of Safe School Community Lesson 9 LGBT Instruction

      Dear Superintendent Vital, 

      My name is [insert name], and I am the [parent/guardian] of [a child or children] who [is/are] enrolled in the Alameda Unified School District.  My [insert name of child] will be entering [insert grade] at the start of the 2009/2010 school year.  

      The Safe School Community Lesson 9 includes instruction that involves health education.  As such, pursuant to section 51240 of the California Education Code, this letter will serve as written notice that I am opting my [child/children] out of said instruction.   The LGBT portion of the instruction conflicts with both my religious training and beliefs as well as my personal moral convictions. Please provide written notification, no later than ten (10) days, as to whether the District will honor this request.  If not, please provide a complete description, including forms or other written materials,
      for exhausting administrative remedies.  This request is made under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code §6250, et seq.).  

      In addition, kindly provide the dates and times of when the above instruction will be given in my [child’s/children’s] classes for the 2009/2010 school year.   To this end I request that the District provide any and all “writings”, defined under Gov. Code §6252(e), that indicate the dates when the instruction will be given in my [child’s/children’s] classes.  This request is also made under the CPRA.  Please be advised that, if necessary, appropriate legal options under Gov. Code §6258, et seq., (injunctive, declaratory, writ relief, costs and attorneys fees) will be pursued by my attorneys for failure to comply with this request for documents under the CPRA.

      Sincerely, 

       

      cc.  K. Snider, Pacific Justice Institute