Public schools in California would be required to incorporate the history of homosexuals into social studies classes if the state Assembly and Gov. Jerry Brown embrace a plan approved by the Senate.
Some advocates say they are optimistic it will become law this year, though a spokesman for Gov. Brown, a Democrat, said the state鈥檚 leader does not take a stance on legislation before it reaches his desk.
鈥淲e are censoring the history and contributions of LGBT Americans from our school curricula,鈥� said state Sen. Mark Leno, a Democrat and lead sponsor of the measure, approved April 14 on a party-line vote of 23-14. 鈥淭he oppositional arguments are nearly identical to ones we heard a few decades ago when the idea of black studies and women鈥檚 studies was first raised, that this would end civilization as we know it.鈥�
In addition, Sen. Leno argues that promoting awareness would curb anti-gay stereotypes and thereby reduce bullying of and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students.
The would add such Americans鈥攁s well as persons with disabilities鈥攖o the list of groups whose roles and contributions must be 鈥渁ccurately portrayed鈥� in social-science instruction and instructional materials. In addition, it would prohibit the state or school districts from adopting textbooks or other instructional materials that 鈥渞eflect adversely鈥� on a person鈥檚 sexual orientation.
In contrast with the California proposal, a Tennessee Senate committee last week advanced a measure to bar discussion of homosexuality in K-8 classrooms.
California Sen. Doug La Malfa, a Republican who was among those voting no on his state鈥檚 bill, argued that it would crowd out other content students need to know.
鈥淭his, to me, is the final frontier of advancing this [gay-rights] agenda into schools,鈥� he said during the Senate floor debate. 鈥淲hat are we going to take out of the curriculum to get this type of curriculum in? Are we going to take Winston Churchill out?鈥�
Christopher T. Cross, an education consultant and a senior U.S. Department of Education official under President George H.W. Bush, said that leaving aside questions of the content, he worries any time a state expands mandates for what content should be covered.
鈥淲hen you get these additional requirements, it may fly in the face of how you鈥檙e going to have a coherent, structured set of standards,鈥� he said, 鈥渘o matter what the issue.鈥�
Teaching Harvey Milk
The Senate bill is backed by the California Teachers Association, as well as at least two school districts: the systems in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
鈥淲e feel it is inherently unethical to exclude a segment of our school population from our curriculum,鈥� Virginia Strom-Martin, a legislative advocate for the 678,000-student Los Angeles district, wrote in an email. 鈥淚nclusive curriculum supports all students. It helps families feel acknowledged, and it promotes cultural fluency.鈥�
Since 2007, she said, the district has included the study of issues related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in health classes to address 鈥渇acts and misconceptions about sexual orientation.鈥�
Sen. Leno said the new legislation would lead districts, for example, to include slain San Francisco councilman and gay-rights activist Harvey Milk in classroom lessons on civil rights.
鈥淭he state education code in California for the past 35 years has required the inclusion of the role and contributions of women, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Native Americans, European Americans, but we are conspicuous in denying students the history of LGBT Americans, and the civil rights struggle鈥� [they鈥檝e been part of],鈥� he said.
The measure has generated intense opposition from some quarters. For example, the issued a call to fight the bill and disputed the argument about bullying, suggesting it was simply an effort to 鈥渃loud the debate and the real objectives鈥� of the bill鈥檚 proponents.
鈥淭hey will not rest until the state forcibly institutes widespread acceptance of the homosexual, bisexual, and transgender lifestyles,鈥� the coalition declared on its website.
But Carolyn Laub, who leads the San Francisco-based Gay-Straight Alliance Network, said the bill, if enacted, would make schools safer for gay students.
鈥淟argely, what students report is that LGBT individuals are invisible and they鈥檙e ignored [in the curriculum],鈥� she said. 鈥淚n that absence, their peers are only learning stereotypes, and that鈥檚 fueling the climate of bullying and harassment and intimidation and physical assaults.鈥�
