Massapequa parents Eugene Devany and Monica Stankard will be guests on next week's American Family Association's public access cable television program discussing the ongoing controversy regarding the Massapequa school district's sex education policies.

Devany, an attorney, has filed an appeal with the NY Commissioner of Education regarding the manner in which an Eastlake grammar school teacher conducted a sixth-grade science class on Jan. 3, 2001. The appeal is still pending.

According to Devany, on Jan. 3, the teacher gave the students a ten-question quiz, of which the first nine questions dealt with genetics. For number ten, the teacher instructed the students to write her a question. She then collected the quizzes and proceeded to answer questions she claims the students asked about certain deviant sexual behaviors.

The teacher involved was certified to teach health, and claims she explained the terms in a clinical and professional fashion. Devany, however, remains concerned about what children in the 11-12-year-old age group are being taught in the Massapequa Schools. This is his third television appearance. He has also participated in a radio call-in show. Because of the publicity, he says he has received a host of calls supporting his position.

"I called my daughter's class list of parents a few days after the incident took place. There is no question that most of the parents were shocked and grateful that I had alerted them to what was going on. Since then, I have received multiple calls saying this kind of thing is not such an aberration. There are a lot of things going on in a lot of schools that parents don't know about."

The program, which will air locally on Channel 71 Feb. 5 at 5 p.m., and Feb. 6 at 10 p.m., is meant to be primarily informative, according to Devany. The American Family Association is a national organization aimed at "building strong families, with a special focus on the decline in traditional moral values and the rising tax burden on middle class families." Devany said he was put in touch with the organization by a pastor from Our Lady of Lourdes church in Massapequa following the incident.

The school board president and school officials were also invited to participate in the TV program, but they declined. "We don't monitor the cable TV shows, and we don't go and visit on those shows," said Executive Director of Massapequa Schools Robert Schilling. "If parents have a concern, or something they would like to bring to our attention, they are free to do so, but we are not going to participate on those shows."

Schilling said that the complaint put into play by Devany was responded to in writing by the district, with the board included in that knowledge. He claims the district has cooperated fully with Devany's appeal to the commissioner of education. "We have really settled this particular issue," Schilling said. "If Mr. Devany feels it is not settled, he can continue to take it on with us. If he is going to take it on a different level by appearing on these TV shows, then that is his decision."