Hawaii Board of Education Chair Don Horner was at the Capitol Monday morning before lawmakers resumed their marathon hearing on Senate Bill 1. 

He told Civil Beat that the board hasn’t addressed the issue of gay marriage specifically. He said there’s no clarity yet on what the law would say in terms of how it might impact school curriculum.

Horner said he has been in talks with Department of Education officials and believes existing policies governing controversial issues would continue should SB 1 pass. 

He was specifically referring to BOE Policy 2210, which says: 

“Student discussion of issues which generate opposing points of view shall be considered a normal part of the learning process in every area of the school program. The depth of the discussion shall be determined by the maturity of the students.

“Teachers shall refer students to resources reflecting all points of view. Discussions, including contributions made by the teacher or resource person, shall be maintained on an objective, factual basis. Stress shall be placed on learning how to make judgments based on facts.”

DOE Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi sent a memo to complex area superintendents, principals and teachers on May 1 to reminder them of the board policy.

“Before engaging in any lesson or activity that may touch upon potentially controversial matters, teachers must discuss the potentially controversial matters with his or her principal to determine whether a letter concerning a potential controversial topic should be sent out to parents or legal guardians,” she said. 

Parents or legal guardians can choose to have their child excluded from a specific lesson or activity by writing a letter to the school administrator or teacher. In that case, the student must be provided with an alternative learning activity, Matayoshi said.

Aside from serving as board president, Horner was a pastor at New Hope Diamond Head. He is also a licensed minister of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.

Horner said Monday that he was not going to testify on SB 1.

New Hope Christian Fellowship, the umbrella organization of New Hope churches led by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, has come out strongly against gay marriage. 

Cordeiro has called it a moral issue, not a civil rights issue as supporters say.

The House Judiciary and Finance committees had heard some 47 hours of testimony as of 5 p.m. Monday, the fourth day of their hearing on SB 1. They were down to the final testifiers, those who were not present the first time their number was called.

Join the conversation in Civil Beat’s Live Blog of the hearing.

— Nathan Eagle

Hawaii Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, left, talks to Board of Education Chair Don Horner (gray shirt) at the Capitol, Nov. 4, 2013. (Nathan Eagle/Honolulu Civil Beat)