Federal Federal File

Open Letter

By Vaishali Honawar — March 01, 2005 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

It’s been more than a month since controversy erupted over the “Postcards from Buster” TV show’s episode featuring two Vermont families headed by lesbian couples. But Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, who objected to the “lifestyles” that children would be exposed to in the episode, continues to hear from Buster’s supporters.

BRIC ARCHIVE

In one of the highest-profile responses, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., one of only a few openly gay members of Congress, wrote to Ms. Spellings and accused her of “meanness.”

“I am sorry that young people all over this country who happen to be gay or lesbian have now learned that the person who has been picked by the president of the United States to help with their education has such a fundamentally negative view of their very existence,” Mr. Frank wrote in the Feb. 11 letter.

In January, Ms. Spellings wrote to the Public Broadcasting Service to express her concerns about the episode of “Postcards from Buster,” a children’s show that receives federal money under the Department of Education’s Ready to Learn program. (“Federal Grant Boosts Educational Television, Faces Fresh Scrutiny,” Feb. 9, 2005.)

She requested, in strong terms, that if PBS aired the episode, it should remove the Education Department’s seal and return the federal funds used to produce it.

PBS decided not to distribute the episode to its member stations and said it would use the money to make another episode. WGBH, the Boston public-television station that produces the show, aired the episode, as did several other public-TV stations.

Rep. Frank said the “strong implication” of Ms. Spellings’ objection to the episode was that the existence of same-sex couples “is something from which young children should be shielded.”

He went on to note that he has shared his own personal relationships with his three “loving siblings” and their children and grandchildren.

“My nieces, nephew, and great-nephews at early ages have in no way been harmed by knowing that I have shared my life with another man,” Mr. Frank wrote. The secretary’s attitude, he argued, endorses the idea that gays and lesbians “ought to be shunned in various ways.”

“For the secretary of education of my country to hold such an attitude is of course profoundly disturbing not just to me, but to many, many others,” Mr. Frank wrote.

An Education Department spokewoman declined to comment on whether Ms. Spellings had read the letter or intends to respond.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the March 02, 2005 edition of Education Week

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Judge Reverses Ed. Dept.'s Abrupt End to States' Time to Spend COVID Relief
The order comes after Education Secretary Linda McMahon effectively canceled more than $1 billion in remaining pandemic relief funding.
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of a coin in the top section of an hour glass
Dumitru Ochievschi/iStock/Getty
Federal Opinion Trump's Barrage of Executive Orders for Education: How Significant Are They?
A Washington insider discusses the immediate—and long-term—implications of the administration's education goals.
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Admin. From Dismantling Library Services Agency
The president referred to the agency as "unnecessary" in a March executive order, after which it started winding down many operations.
2 min read
President Donald Trump arrives at Tuscaloosa National Airport, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
President Donald Trump arrives at Tuscaloosa National Airport, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. A federal judge blocked the president's attempt to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal Opinion We’re All to Blame for What Has Become of the U.S. Dept. of Education
The trouble started decades ago with a flawed plan to improve America’s schools, writes a former New York superintendent.
Michael V. McGill
5 min read
Illustration of pointing fingers.
DigitalVision Vectors<br/>