Should Gay Marriage Be Part of a District's Curriculum?

On Tuesday,  which moved them to the next step: approval or rejection by the full House and Senate.

Discussions about gay marriage aren't confined to politics. Last year's proposed consitutional amendment and this year's bills are leading to conversations in homes and churches. But should those discussions move into public school classrooms?

Should districts include the issue of gay marriage in their curriculum?

After same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, Chancellor Merryl Tisch, the head of the state Board of Regents, said the issue should be added to districts' curriculums.

"We have to think of, how we do discuss gay marriage thoughtfully, respectfully and sensitively," Tisch said. "There has to be age-appropriateness."

Same-sex couples are becoming ever-more visible in our society, and many children of heterosexual parents go to school with children of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families. Many teachers may find it tough to ignore this.

How should teachers address same-sex marriage in their classrooms?

In California in 2008, a student and the American Civil Liberties Union accused a San Francisco Bay Area district of discrimination for not including homosexuality in its curriculum, according to a story in The Bay Citizen. So the district agreed to include same-sex families in lessons starting in elementary school. 

About three years later, parents and religious leaders said "their rights were being violated because they had no control over whether their children received such lessons."

A same-sex marriage bill currently is being discussed in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister David Cameron would like it to become law, according to a story in The Telegraph.

Same-sex marriage opponents are concerned that teachers could be dismissed for saying they cannot teach the issue on grounds of conscience, according to the story.

A Department of Education spokesperson said, however, “teachers will not be forced to teach views about gay marriage which are against their conscience.

“Schools will not acquire a power to dismiss teachers who refuse to teach views about gay marriage which are against their conscience.”

Should public school teachers be allowed to conscientiously object to presenting the issue to their students?

We want to hear what you think. Answer the three questions in the comments.