(Providence Journal) Governor Chafee has decided to let a bill allowing “father-daughter dances” — and other gender-specific school events — become law without his signature, despite calls from more than a dozen women’s groups for a veto.
The legislation, introduced by Sen. Hanna M. Gallo, D-Cranston, in the wake of last year’s uproar over a father-daughter dance in that city, would permit “father-daughter” or “mother-son” events as long as “reasonable comparable activities” are provided for students of the opposite sex.
Last year, the Cranston school superintendent reinforced a ban against gender-limited events after the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint on behalf of a single mother of a fourth grader at the Stadium Elementary School.
