John McDaid
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
John McDaid
4:41 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
This is about access to appropriate information in schools. I don't understand how defending First Amendment freedom for our kids is evil.
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
John McDaid
2:21 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
There's no lawsuit; the ACLU issued a report based on information collected from all school districts. The School Committee is looking into it. That's a First Amendment issue. Your use of Patch, on the other hand, is controlled by the Terms you agreed to when you signed up, which prohibit defamatory comments.
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
John McDaid
11:22 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Dennis, I agree that what is needed is an informed policy, and that's what I understand the school committee will pursue. About the prayer banner, I would just suggest that you read the court decision before imputing motives. http://www.riaclu.org/documents/AhlquistvCranstoncourtruling.pdf
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
John McDaid
11:07 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Hi, Jake. Yes, I'm a liberal, and cluelessness is in the eye of the beholder. However, your assertion that I do not pay taxes is false, malicious, and defamatory.
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
John McDaid
10:04 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
If you read the report, nagaer40, you will find that the ACLU notes that Portsmouth, in all of Rhode Island, reported blocking sites in the "Religious" category. Here's the link: http://riaclu.org/documents/AccessDeniedReport.pdf
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
John McDaid
10:01 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
This is a question of what research materials are accessible to students; one can easily imagine history term papers involving gay rights which would require this category. And while this is not the time or place to re-litigate the Cranston prayer banner, it is worth pointing out that this was settled by a court in favor of Jessica Ahlquist.
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
John McDaid
9:59 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Please provide some backup for your claim that the ACLU is "responsible" for social turmoil. Also, not sure how you would "furlough" an organization which is independent from the government.
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On the article School Committee Criticizes ACLU Report
John McDaid
9:56 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Joe, I'm not sure how defending students' First Amendment freedom constitutes ruining our country.
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On the article Parents Outraged Over School Decision During Blizzard Cleanup
John McDaid
6:15 am on Monday, February 11, 2013
ReplyThanksm Patch for the coverage, and thanks to everyone who commented on Facebook, sent e-mails, and alerted local media. Glad to see that PSD made a safer decision this morning.
John McDaid
7:27 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
I find it troubling to hear First Amendment freedoms for our schoolchildren described as "nonsense," but agree that the solution is to have a consistently employed and transparent policy. I am not sure, given the state laws that give local school committees authority over curriculum, that you could do this at the state level, but that's a question for RIDE.
However, one thing. This is not the first time in this thread that the ACLU and religion have come up. I would like to remind you of the distinction between teaching *about* religion (which happens in many areas of the curriculum) and teaching *religion*. One of the things the report notes as an issue is the blocking of access to "religion" as a category, because having access to viewpoint-neutral information about the topic is an important educational resource for students.