A school that supposedly said a boy 'could wear a dress to school' in anti-gay marriage ad denies it ever happened
A Victorian high school principal has denied claims in an anti-same sex marriage TV advertisement that a boy was told he could wear a dress.
The 30 second ad, which aired on TV last night, features a mother claiming a school "told my son that he could wear a dress to school next year if he wanted."
Fairfax Media reports Frankston High principal John Albiston has denied the claim.
"We checked with all the teachers, it never happened," he said.
Mother-of-four Cella White first made the claim 18 months ago amid concerns about the Safe Schools program and transgender awareness.
She removed her children from the school in February 2016, including her 14-year-old son after “it was announced in science class that boys could wear school dresses next year."
Albiston told Fairfax that he'd never had any complaints that the school had told boys they could wear dresses.
"We didn't offer them that option," he said.
He said White had raised concerns with him about the Safe Schools program, but never mentioned school uniforms.
"You would think if she was so concerned she would have raised it," he said.
The Coalition for Marriage ad features three mothers concerned about sex education in school and linking it to the upcoming postal plebiscite on same sex marriage.
Labor leader Bill Shorten called the ad "offensive and hurtful to LGBTI Australians and their families".
On its website the Coalition for Marriage says:
Removing gender from our marriage laws means removing gender from the classroom.
This ad will play an important role in helping Australians understand that saying ‘yes’ to gay marriage would mean saying ‘yes’ to radical gay sex education in schools.
The groups is seeking money from its supporters saying it needs $35,000 a day to keep the ad on air.
Fairfax Media has more here.
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