Lawsuit over Brokeback Mountain being shown in class

http://www.kentucky.com/476/story/68870.html

The Associated Press

CHICAGO --A girl and her grandparents have sued the Chicago Board of
Education, alleging that a substitute teacher showed the R-rated film
"Brokeback Mountain" in class.

The lawsuit claims that Jessica Turner, 12, suffered psychological
distress after viewing the movie in her 8th grade class at Ashburn
Community Elementary School last year.

The film, which won three Oscars, depicts two cowboys who conceal
their homosexual affair.

Turner and her grandparents, Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, are
seeking around $500,000 in damages.

"It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this,"
said Kenneth Richardson, Turner's guardian. "The teacher knew she was
not supposed to do this."

According to the lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court,
the video was shown without permission from the students' parents and
guardians.

The lawsuit also names Ashburn Principal Jewel Diaz and a substitute
teacher, referred to as "Ms. Buford."

The substitute asked a student to shut the classroom door at the West
Side school, saying: "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms.
Buford's class," according to the lawsuit.

Richardson said his granddaughter was traumatized by the movie and had
to undergo psychological treatment and counseling.

In 2005, Richardson complained to school administrators about reading
material that he said included curse words.

"This was the last straw," he said. "I feel the lawsuit was necessary
because of the warning I had already given them on the literature they
were giving out to children to read. I told them it was against our
faith."

Messages left over the weekend with CPS officials were not immediately
returned.

.

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