LAC News
CWA of Georgia Works to Give Public-School Parents a Voice
By Beth Andersen
January 2006

Concerned Women for America of Georgia is making progress in requiring parental notification about what clubs their children attend at school. 

Finding herself on the frontlines, Tanya Ditty, State Director for CWA of Georgia, is pushing the issue among school boards and lobbying for passage of a parental permission bill.

“We need to allow parents to be parents, and a large part of doing that is simply allowing them to know what their children are involved in.  School boards in Georgia are starting to realize this and have begun backing up parents on the issue,” said Ditty. 

According to the Washington Blade, a homosexual newspaper, one-third of school districts in Georgia are requiring parental notification about their children’s club involvement.

However, not everyone is happy about this move in favor of parental rights; the homosexual community sees it as an attack on their agenda. 

“The bills -- filed in both the House and the Senate -- were intended to make sure parents know about clubs that support gay and lesbian students that have started appearing in Georgia,” says the January 18 Blade.

Ditty says the issue is not homosexuality; it is about realizing that parent involvement is the key to a child succeeding educationally. 

Currently, each school board decides whether or not to adopt the parental notification policy. 

“CWA of Georgia still has a lot of work to do in seeing this thing through, but the current progress and the response from school boards across the state are very encouraging,” said Ditty. 

Ultimately, proponents would like to see passage of the actual parental-permission bill, which goes a step beyond notification.

Georgia State Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-50th), a sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, has joined CWA in the effort.

 “Parental rights must be protected,” she said in a speech. “Parental notification regarding children must be made a priority whether it is about clubs and organizations at school, abortion, surveys for children to answer, or health issues. Children belong to parents. Parents are responsible to make decisions regarding their children.”

With the support of parents and community alike, Ditty feels there is a good chance of the legislation passing this year in Georgia.