California Governor Jerry Brown
Photo: Office of the Governor
By: The Seattle Lesbian—
CALIFORNIA—Governor Jerry Brown is making sure that the kids in his state will be taught an honest history.
Brown signed a bill last week that will require the public schools in California to teach children about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. It will also require the teaching on the role of people with disabilities.
The state already requires students to learn about Native American, African American, Mexican American, and Asian American contributions as well. [pullquote]Brown signed a bill last week that will require the public schools in California to teach children about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. It will also require the teaching on the role of people with disabilities.[/pullquote]
“This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books,” he said. “It represents an important step forward for our state, and I thank Senator Leno [who wrote the bill] for his hard work on this historic legislation.”
Though the bill will take effect in January, textbooks probably won’t be updated until later in 2015. This is the FIRST BILL of its kind in the United States.
“Today we are making history in California by ensuring that our textbooks and instructional materials no longer exclude the contributions of LBT Americans,” Sen. Leno said. [pullquote]The state already requires students to learn about Native American, African American, Mexican American, and Asian American contributions as well.[/pullquote]
According to his research, students who learn about LGBT people are more likely to be inclusive and fair.
Naturally, the bill has caused a bit of controversy.
“It is an outrage that Governor Jerry Brown has opened the classroom door for homosexual activists to indoctrinate the minds of California’s youth, since no factual materials would be allowed to be presented,” Rev. Louis Sheldon, chairman and founder of the Traditional Values Coalition, which speaks on behalf of over 43,000 churches, said. “If parents don’t already have their children out of public schools, this should cause them to remove them.”
