PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Senate on Thursday approved a bill aimed at removing potential legal barriers to gender-specific activities -- such as father-daughter dances -- in Rhode Island's public schools.
The vote was 33 to 3.
The measure was prompted by an uproar in Cranston last year after the School Committee canceled a father-daughter dance in the face of a civil-rights challenge by the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The bill now headed to the House would allow a school to "provide extracurricular activities for students of one sex, including... father-daughter/mother-son activities,'' as long as "opportunities for reasonably comparable activities'' are provided students of the other sex.''
ACLU RESPONDS TO SENATE VOTE:"We are very disappointed by the Senate's vote today,'' said ACLU executive director Steven Brown. "By allowing schools to segregate by sex any extra-curricular activity -- whether it's the chess club, debate team, or science club -- the state is taking a giant leap backward in encouraging the reemergence of stereotypes about the abilities and interests of girls and boys."
Updated April 4, 2013 4:09 PM