Teachers, students and parents have come together to challenge the decision of the Surrey school trustees to ban from Surrey schools books that depict families with same sex parents. Their counsel, Joseph Arvay, is filing a petition in B.C. Supreme Court today that asks the court to quash this decision, and further to order the School Board not to refuse to approve educational materials based solely on the grounds of sexual orientation.

On April 10, 1997, the Surrey School Board decided that resources from gay and lesbian groups would not be approved for use in Surrey schools, and two weeks later refused to approve three particular books: Asha’s Mums, Belinda’s Bouquet and One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads.

The petition is being made by:

• Murray Warren, a gay teacher and member of Gay and Lesbian Educators of B.C.
• James Chamberlain, a gay teacher in Surrey
• Diane Wilcott, a parent of a Surrey student
• Blaine Cook, a high school student in Surrey, and
• Rosamund Elwin, a co-author of Asha’s Mums.

They claim that the decisions violate their Charter rights to equality and freedom of expression.

Each of the books, the petitioners argue, is age appropriate for Kindergarten and grade one students, and were banned solely because in each a child has parents of the same sex. The petitioners further argue that prejudice, hatred and discrimination against gay and lesbian people is a serious problem, especially for homosexual students. It is therefore crucial to ensure that homosexual students and children with same sex parents see themselves reflected in the school curriculum, so as to combat homophobia in our schools and in society at large.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association and EGALE (Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere) support these arguments, and have offered their assistance in the lawsuit.