Greenbelt, USA - A federal judge has blocked a county school system from instituting a new health curriculum that includes discussions of homosexuality and religion and a demonstration on how to use condoms.
U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams issued a temporary restraining order Thursday that prevents the Montgomery County school system in suburban Washington, D.C., from using the pilot program in six schools.
The program had been scheduled to begin Monday. During the 10-day restraining order, another hearing will be held on whether to extend it, the judge said.
But school Superintendent Jerry D. Weast said in a statement after the ruling that he was suspending use of the curriculum for the rest of the school year and had ordered a review of its materials before deciding the future of the program.
Williams agreed with two groups that filed a lawsuit claiming the curriculum's discussion of homosexuality amounted to preferential treatment for religions that preach tolerance of homosexuality over those that reject it.
For example, the curriculum juxtaposes faiths such as Quakers and Unitarians that support full rights for homosexuals with groups such as Baptists, who are painted as "intolerant and biblically misguided," the judge wrote in his opinion.
"The court is extremely troubled by the willingness of the defendants to venture, or perhaps more correctly, bound, into the crossroads of controversy where religion, morality and homosexuality converge," Williams wrote.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, a county group composed mostly of parents, and the Virginia-based Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays.
"I don't think it is right that we have 13-year-olds learning to think whether they are gay or straight," said Laura Quigley, who has three children in the school system. "We just need to let them be kids."
The new curriculum was to be used in eighth and 10th grades. The county planned to use it in all schools after testing it this spring.
Previously, health teachers could only discuss homosexuality in response to questions. Under the new program, they could bring up the issue on their own. The 10th-grade class would include a seven-minute video that discusses abstinence and includes a segment where a woman puts a condom on a cucumber to demonstrate its use.
Students and parents who choose not to take part are offered alternatives that include abstinence-only programs.
Erik Stanley, an attorney for the two groups that filed suit, said the curriculum implies that homosexuality is a biological trait, not a lifestyle choice. It excludes the viewpoints of ex-gays and those who believe that "same-sex attraction can be overcome," he said.
Williams agreed, saying that by presenting only one side to the debate, the schools were violating the free speech rights of those who may not agree.