Women's groups call on governor to veto 'father-daughter' dance bill

Article here. Excerpt:

'More than a dozen women's groups are calling on Governor Chafee to veto legislation approved by the General Assembly that would allow school districts to continue holding "father-daughter" dances and other gender-specific events.

The bill came in response to complaints over Cranston public school's decision to host a "father-daughter" dance for female students and a field trip to a baseball game for male students. In response, the school district cancelled the "father-daughter" dance.

The bill -- S-12A -- amended state law to permit schools "to provide activities for students of one sex provided that reasonably comparable activities are provided for students of the other sex." It was introduced by Sen. Hanna M. Gallo, who is a Cranston Democrat and also a speech pathologist for the Cranston School Department.'