The following report by Team 4 investigator Paul Van Osdol first aired on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2006.

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Based out of Switzerland, the International Baccalaureate program teaches classes from a world viewpoint and has drawn criticism, especially from conservative groups.

The first person to link the IB program to Marxist doctrine was Allen Quist, a political activist in Minnesota. His wife, Julie, runs a Web site called Edwatch.

Allen and Julie Quist are no strangers to controversy.

The arguments used by Upper Saint Clair School Board members who killed the IB program echo those found on the Edwatch web site.

Two years ago, Allen Quist wrote an article for Edwatch linking the IB program to communist governments and organizations with a Marxist worldview.

Quist told Team 4 by telephone that the comparison is valid.

"I'm not saying that this is a Marxist system, nor am I saying it's a communist system. But I am saying that the view of human rights is the same," Quist said. "It is an un-American system that has been brought into our country and it does not belong here."

Quist is a creationist who ran for governor of Minnesota as a Republican in 1994 and 1998.

As a legislator, he stirred controversy by launching undercover investigations of gay bath houses and pornographic book stores.

He also said men are "genetically disposed" to be head of the household.

His wife, Julie, is a former radical feminist who once ran a lesbian bookstore. She later became an anti-abortion and Republican activist.

President George W. Bush does not think the IB program is Marxist or un-American.

"We've got to continue to raise the bar in our high schools and one of the best ways to do so is by promoting advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs," Bush said in January 2005.

The president's 2007 budget increases AP and IB funding from $32 million to $122 million. It also calls for training 70,000 teachers for AP and IB classes.

"Every student with a passion or ability to take an AP or IB class should have the opportunity to do so. That's why we've increased federal support for AP and IB programs," Bush said.

Quist told Team 4 that Bush is misguided on the IB program.

Parents who support IB said they are planning to file a lawsuit against the Upper Saint Clair School Board. That suit could be filed as early as next week.