New Law Requires Local Schools to Teach LGBT History

Over the summer, California passed numerous laws impacting public schools. One is a law requiring all schools to offer (Believe it or not, many schools, including local ones, did not have water in areas where kids ate lunch). The other is a new requirement that districts incorporate the contributions of gay, lesbian and transgender people and the disabled into history curriculums.

Passed earlier this month, the law applies to classes from kindergarten through high school and will go into effect Jan. 1. Textbooks will not be reprinted to meet the requirement for several years and how the requirement is implemented will be up to individual school districts and classrooms.

The overarching goal is to promote tolerance and reduce bullying of kids who are different, in the aftermath of suicides of numerous gay teens around the country.

But at Petaluma schools, many superintendents said they had few details about the requirements and were awaiting direction from the California Schools Boards Association, which is expected to come in November.

At , assistant superintendent Jane Escovedo said the district was already involved in many tolerance building programs, including the “Caring Schools” curriculum in elementary schools and Challenge Day, programs where students share their own experience of being bullied and learn to appreciate each other’s differences instead of viewing them as a source of conflict.

“It’s not going to be a big change for us, but more like a tweak,” Escovedo said.

However, the legislation does require that districts incorporate LGBT history into its textbooks and Escovedo said the district has begun discussion about how to do this.

“We realize how important it is to train kids to enter the working world where they will interact with people who are different from them,” she said.

Cindy Pilar, who took over as superintendent of this month, said changes in the curriculum would be made only when the district purchases new textbooks in several years.

“We’re very happy to comply with this law, but it does affect implementation,” Pilar said. “To tell you the truth, a lot of districts are delaying this implementation because they just don’t have the money for new textbooks right now.”

Pilar added that the legislation does not require districts to “go out and teach differently now, but just says the boards need to be mindful of the new when adapting new texts.”

A totally unscientific survey of Petalumans (on our Facebook page, outside the and downtown) showed that many are in favor of the new law.

“There are some individuals who are part of the gay rights movement that are inspiring, compassionate, heroic people,” said Tara Baxagocsy, who is gay. “As a woman who had an inkling she was gay at a very early age (and dropped out of high school because of the alienation), I would have benefited greatly hearing about this history.”

There is an alarmingly high suicide rate among gay youth and any support from schools would be life-altering, Baxagocsy said. “It won't make anyone gay. But it could teach tolerance and that would improve our society greatly.”

Terry Ball, a retired bridge painter, said he believed that while elementary school was too young to have the conversation about gays and lesbians, older children should be exposed to the concept.

“Parents should be addressing the issue at home,” Ball, who is 58, said. “But in general, kids need to be playing on monkey bars, not learning about gay people.”

Davis Fairon, 21, who was leaving Aces Over Eights Tattoo parlor on a recent day, said he favored the idea.

“You can’t really hide it,” he said. “Kids should be exposed to what’s going on out there.”

Meanwhile, opponents of the law—the first in the country —said they were collecting signatures for a ballot referendum to overturn the legislation.

"Politicians have no business writing textbooks," Paulo Sibaja, a spokesman for the group Stop SB48, told the Associated Press. "It should be left to the historians and academic experts," he said.