Responses of Celia Bassols to GLAA 2007 Questionnaire
for D.C. Board of Education Candidates
[Note: Candidate has withdrawn from the race.]
| Yes/No | Substance | Record | Championship | Total |
| 2 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 |
1. Do you recognize the right of our public school students to organize clubs to promote gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights, to combat homophobic and transphobic violence and prejudice, and to provide socializing opportunities for GLBT youth?
Yes, I recognize the right of our schools to organize clubs to educate students on the rights of GBLT youth.
2. Do you recognize the right of students to bring dates of the same sex to school proms and other official public school social functions?
Yes, I recognize the right of student to bring the date of their choice to school functions.
3. Will you oppose efforts to restrict or censor books or other materials in our public school libraries that discuss homosexuality in a positive and supportive manner?
I will not support censorship of books or educational materials in our libraries that educate our children on how to be responsible and respectful citizens to each other regardless of sexual orientation.
4. Do you support the right of non-profit groups to provide DCPS school libraries with gay-positive books which are openly displayed and freely available to all students?
Yes, I support the right of non-profit groups to provide DCPS school libraries with positive GLBT literature.
5. Do you support efforts by Metro DC PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to work constructively with our local public schools to provide support groups and to help implement anti-harassment policies?
Yes, I support PFLAG and its mission.
6. Do you favor training programs for professional development of teachers, counselors, and other school system staff, such as those offered by the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), to help these professionals nurture positive identity formation for GLBT students and prevent harassment and bullying in the classroom?
Yes, I favor professional development of teachers, counselors and other school system staff that educates all the school administrators and staff on how to be nurturing of all children regardless of sexual orientation.
7. From time to time, D.C. public school teachers have invited openly gay men and women to speak in their classes and to answer students’ questions about homosexuality. Do you support the right of our teachers to continue inviting such speakers?
Yes, I support DCPS teachers and their efforts to educate our children about their sexuality.
8. The recent report by the Appleseed Center detailed many shortcomings in the District’s condom distribution program, as only 125,000 condoms were distributed in 2005, far below the goal of 600,000. Will you support a reinvigoration of the DCPS condom availability program, operated by the Department of Health?
I fully support reinvigoration of the DCPS condom program that would go far in preventing STDs in our youth.
9. Will you work to implement a comprehensive sex education program in the D.C. Public Schools that teaches that homosexuality is part of the normal range of human sexuality, consistent with existing DCPS policy?
Yes, I would support a sex ed program that teaches the complete range of human sexuality.
10. Will you oppose the use of either federal or District taxpayer funds to promote so-called “abstinence only until marriage” sex education that undermines safer-sex programs by discouraging the use of condoms and that effectively tells lesbian and gay male students that they must be celibate forever because they may not legally marry?
YES – abstinence only does not work and is an example of parents not realizing that their teenaged children are sexual beings that generally, in my experience, don’t wait to feel good when intimacy is involved
11. Do you support the full implementation of the DCPS Sexual Harassment and Harassment Policy, which protects public school students from physical and verbal abuse based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity (DCMR Title 5, Education: 2503.2.g-h)?
Yes I support DCMR Title 5, Education: 2503.2.g-h.
12. Will you oppose both federally and locally funded voucher programs that fund students in religious schools that are beyond the protections of the D.C. Human Rights Act?
Yes, I oppose federally and locally funded dismantling of our public schools through voucher programs.
Please provide the URL for your campaign website, if you have one. We will include it on our candidate links page.
Your record is part of your rating. Please list any actions that you have taken that may help illustrate your record on behalf of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders.
[Prefatory remark from candidate's response] Let me begin by saying that I love my bisexual daughter who came out to me more than 2 years ago. I believe that all people are equally important and subject to all the rights, responsibilities, and privileges offered to all people in this country regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, gender, or religious beliefs.
I am “mom” to more children than I bore, simply because in my house they are safe and loved unconditionally.
