San Rafael school district offers religious-based opt out policy for parents
Parents of elementary school students in San Rafael City Schools will be allowed to opt their children out of classroom activities that they believe violate their religious beliefs, reported the Marin Independent Journal.
The district board voted unanimously in favor of the policy last month, which could include opting out of activities such as book readings that involve an LGBTQ+ character.
District Superintendent Carmen Diaz Ghysels said the policy will roll out this fall semester and parents will be able to fill out an online form to request that a child be excused from an activity on religious grounds. The school would provide an alternative activity to the student.
“The principal is the one who will be responsible for finding an alternative that will work for that student,” Diaz Ghysels said. “That’s what we are working on.”
The district will have to address further implementation challenges, such as making parents aware of the opt-out policy even though the district is not required to advertise the option, and ensuring schools do not track opt-outs in a student’s profile.
The policy also prohibits a teacher or school from penalizing a child who is excused. The district issued the opt-out policy following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that ruled in favor of parents who withdrew their children from LGBTQ-related storybook lessons in class. John Carroll, the Marin County superintendent of schools, said there is no requirement for districts to update policies since the Supreme Court decision.
This story was originally published by EdSource.