Battle Brewing in WV over Same-Sex Classrooms - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

A battle is brewing in West Virginia over whether boys and girls should be separated at school.

This week, officials with the West Virginia Board of Education said they support the practice.

But the move, intended to raise test scores in struggling classrooms, has been met by considerable controversy.

It comes on the heels of landmark ruling in September, when a Parkersburg mom challenged the practice.

She alleged in her suit with the American Civil Liberties Union that school officials were in violation of federal law by separating the students.

Federal law prohibits sex discrimination in the classroom, unless the class meets several criteria – chief among them that participation is voluntary. The decision to separate the students must also be substantially relevant to the objectives of the class.

In the end, the judge ruled in favor of the mother. Students and parents, he said were not given sufficient notice that participation was voluntary and the students were forced to re-integrate. 

"I think any lesson learned. It's good to start at an early age, when you're young. I think it's fine for boys and girls to stay together and grow up together," said Lyndel Roper, on why he supports the ruling.

Still, educator Joan Parsons supports the board's move. She said it is important to separate students in some cases, especially in classrooms with low test scores.

"There's an age where you have to look at their hormones as opposed to whether they're getting along. With test scores the way they are, we need to try something. I think it might be good, especially at the middle school level," said Joan Parsons, an educator in Raleigh County.

"In middle school, the kids tend to want to compete with each other. The girls are worried about the boys. And the boys are worried about the girls. The classrooms I've observed where they're separated, it's amazing. They boys ask each other questions and learn from each other. And it's the same with the girls," Parsons added.