TUPELO, Miss.—American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) is alerting parents about the upcoming “Day of Silence,” sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which urges teen students to practice homosexual activism in the public school classroom on Friday, April 17.

On this day, AFA reported in an Action Alert yesterday to its one million friends and supporters, thousands of public high schools and an increasing number of middle schools will allow students to remain silent throughout an entire day—even during instructional time—to promote GLSEN’s socio-political goals.

“Parents must actively oppose this hijacking of the classroom for political purposes,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “We urge friends of AFA to join the national effort to restore to public education a proper understanding of the role of government-subsidized schools by helping to de-politicize the learning environment by keeping children out of school—if your local school allows students to remain silent during instructional time—on the Day of Silence.”

If students will be permitted to remain silent, parents can express their opposition most effectively by keeping their children out of school on the Day of Silence and sending letters of explanation to their administrators, their children’s teachers and all school board members. One reason this is effective is that most school districts lose money for each student absence.

“School administrators err when they allow the classroom to be disrupted and politicized by granting students permission to remain silent throughout an entire day,” Wildmon added.

AFA suggested the following ways parents can take action regarding the Day of Silence:

Call your local schools and ask whether they permit students or teachers to remain silent in the classroom on the Day of Silence. IMPORTANT: Do not ask any administrator, school board member or teacher if the school sponsors, endorses or supports the Day of Silence. Schools do not technically sponsor the Day of Silence; students spearhead the observation. Many administrators will say the school does not sponsor the Day of Silence, when, in fact, they do permit students and sometimes even teachers to remain silent during instructional time. Also, ask administrators whether they permit teachers to create lesson plans to accommodate student silence.

Learn when the event is planned for your school. (The national date in 2015 is Friday, April 17, but some schools observe the Day of Silence on a different date).

Inform the school of your intention to keep your children at home on that date and explain why.

Visit www.doswalkout.net for complete information on opposing the Day of Silence.

GLSEN is listed on AFA’s Anti-Christian Bigotry Map. On the map, AFA identifies more than 200 groups and organizations that openly display bigotry toward the Christian faith. The site educates Americans about these groups via an interactive map of groups whose actions, for example, have endorsed efforts to silence Christians and to remove all public displays of Christian heritage and faith in America.