Rhode Island school system: Dad-daughter dances violate law

CRANSTON, R.I. - The mayor of a Rhode Island city that ended father-daughter dances and mother-son ballgames because of the state's gender discrimination law is calling the move an attack on time-honored traditions.

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung says he's "utterly disappointed" the school district ended the gender-based events after the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter of complaint last spring.

Schools Superintendent Judith Lundsten told school organizations in an August letter that district attorneys found that while federal gender discrimination laws exempt such events, Rhode Island's law does not.

ACLU Executive Director Steven Brown says the complaint came from a single mother whose daughter was precluded from attending the father-daughter dance. He said gender-specific events are not appropriate and commended the school system for banning them.