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Stop Michigan Legislators From Turning Back the Clock on Women
Tell Them: Don't Segregate the Sexes in School
This week, the Michigan Legislature is on the fast track to pass legislation that would amend Michigan civil rights laws by permitting the establishment of sex-segregated public schools and classrooms. With almost no prior notice, a bill that would turn the clock back 150 years for girls and young women sailed (35-5) through the Senate Education Committee last Thursday.
Right wing opponents of equal educational opportunity are using a slick and deceptive campaign to ram through this legislation. The full Senate vote is scheduled for this Thursday. The House Education Committee passed similar legislation last Wednesday, but that bill would limit single-sex schools to the Detroit school district. It may go to a full House vote next week.
Action Needed:
We need you, and all NOW members and supporters in Michigan, to call your Senators and Representatives immediately to urge them to vote against this discriminatory and unconstitutional legislation.
We need your help right away, please call your legislators today.
There's a message below that you can use as a guide.
Background:
Separating Sexes is No Answer - Backers of sex-segregated education say that boys and girls learn better in environments where they are separated, but there is little valid evidence to support that contention when socio-economic status differences are taken into account. The problem of inner city students in failing schools must be addressed by smaller classes, better-trained teachers, tutoring and mentoring and more financial resources, not by separating the sexes! Also, students who disrupt classes (often boys) must be dealt with appropriately by teachers -- the answer is not to remove ALL boys, or all girls, from the classroom because of a few behavior problems.
Slick Right Wing Campaign - The well-financed effort to promote sex segregated education is part of the larger right-wing effort to weaken the public school systems by transferring taxpayer dollars to religious and for-profit private schools where there is little to no accountability. We know from past experience that separate is not equal: girls' classes and schools will inevitably be of lesser quality than those offered for boys. Boys will never learn to accept and respect girls' leadership in sex-segregated schools. Is sex-segregation a realistic model for our children's future adult world?
Sample Message:
Use our sample message below as a guide:
"I strongly oppose sex-segregated public schools and urge you to vote against SB 1296 and SB 1305 and any amendments that would allow public funds to support sex-segregated schools and classes. Separate is NOT Equal and studies show that separation will NOT promote better educational outcomes for our daughters or our sons.
To address the real problems of inner city schools failing their students, legislators and public school districts must allocate the resources necessary to improve the quality of education for all students in all public schools. Separating boys and girls isn't the answer. I will be watching how you vote on this crucial legislation."
Resources:
Michigan NOW Press Release:
Michigan Senate Approves Sex Discrimination
in Education Pushing Women's Rights Back
Michigan NOW opposes the effort to push women back to the bad old days of 34
years ago, before federal legislation made it illegal to discriminate on the
basis of sex in education. The tradition of co-education in Michigan schools
goes back to our founding and the Northwest Ordinance. We oppose all efforts
to establish public sex segregated schools, classes or programs in Michigan
because it inevitably leads to sex discrimination based on gender. In approving
SB 1296 today, the Michigan Senate is trying to reinstate 19th century theories
about education and gender.
That the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act must be amended to allow
sex segregation ought to be an indication to the seriousness of this matter.
The Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act provides that "full and equal
utilization of and benefit from educational institutions and facilities and
public accommodations shall not be denied on the basis of an individual's sex."
Section 380.1146 of the Michigan School Code of 1856 provides in full: "A
separate school or department shall not be kept for a person on account of race,
color, or gender."
Moreover, the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted
to prohibit sex discrimination in the form of sex segregated schools except
in narrowly tailored circumstances that are not safeguarded in the Michigan
Senate's action today.
While NOW recognizes the complex problems that some urban males face, we agree
with the decision of Eastern District Judge George E. Woods, in Garrett
v. Board of Education 775 F Supp 1004 (ED Mich 1991) who held "while
the purpose for which the [Detroit Public Schools] male academies came into
being is an important one, the objectives, no matter how compelling, cannot
override the rights of females to equal opportunities."
Supporters of sex-segregated private schools tout the benefits of self-segregation
for women and girls as nurturance of their self esteem, and protection from
sexual harassment. A more objective view would confront the paramount fact that
validation of sex discrimination on any basis is a benefit for men at women's
expense. No claims of "affirmative action" for a few girls can compensate
for the harm done to women in general by affirming the legality of sex classification
and promoting the mystique of sexual difference to justify it.
While research does show differences in male and female brains, the meaning
and implications for this research are highly debatable and far from conclusive
with regard to its application to education settings. The US Department of Education
points out that much of the research does not meet proper research standards.
Sex-based separatism institutionalizes sex-based disadvantage -- that is why
those who oppose affirmative action in every other context praise women's schools
as models of affirmative action. And that is why it is destructive to the concept
of affirmative action to misapply it to support sex segregation in the schools.
Persuading women to forgo equality to retain sex-specific "privileges"
would defeat the very concept of equality before the law and preserve as constitutional
status quo the right to discriminate, selectively, and on the basis of sex.
We must decide which matters more -- women's right to equality or helping schools
facilitate sex discrimination.
NOW has taken a consistent position against sex discrimination in schools and
colleges. Women are entitled to equality in education and that only can happen
in integrated settings where all children are given equal opportunity to benefit.
We are determined to fight for our right to equal treatment and equal opportunity
in education. Single sex schools do not promote equality of opportunity but
instead curtail it.
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