Submitted by Fox First at Ten on November 17th
SPOKANE, Wash. - The new law that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington State, Referendum-74, continued to pass by 53 percent Friday. The latest numbers were reported by the Secretary at State's Office Friday afternoon.
Once certified, Washington will become one of nine states to legally allow same-sex marriage but it has many asking: will the new marriage law be taught in schools?
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) spokesman, Nathan Olson, said his office has no plans to change statewide curriculum regarding its definition of marriage or the language used to describe it.
"At the state level, we don't have any authority," Olson continued. "That's part of what local control is all about."
While every local district must follow OSPI guidelines to protect students' civil rights, It's up to local districts to decide exactly what lessons children learn about including marriage. As it stands now, the state does not have any language within their guidelines that discusses marriage in schools.
"There's a lot of material and a lot of curricula about relationships, but not specifically about marriage -nothing in there uses the word marriage," Olson said.
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RESOURCES:
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI): CLICK HERE
