Do school teach lgbtq+ inclusive curricula
Six states contain now passed Homosexual inclusive curriculum legislation—each with a diverse definition of ‘inclusion’
Following months of anti-transgender legislation and contentious debates around LGBTQ+ student rights, Nevada took a big step forward last week by becoming the sixth state to expect schools to instruct a history and social science curriculum inclusive of Homosexual people and identities. In many ways, Assembly Bill 2621 mirrors efforts of other states that have already passed such legislation, many of which need the inclusion of not only Gay people in history texts, but also Black, Native, and Indigenous people and people with disabilities.
According to GLSEN, five other states already have laws on the books requiring K-12 instructional materials to include and represent LGBTQ+ people and identities. One key difference, however, that sets the new Nevada statute apart is its mandate for inclusive content starting in kindergarten. Where some other states acquire considered and defined inclusion for upper grades only, Nevada’s law prompts novel questions about how we ought to think about inclusive content. This advance also begs questions about inclusive curriculum laws more b
LGBTQ Curricular Laws
LGBTQ-related curricular laws are important for LGBTQ students’ health, well-being, and academic success. This put of maps covers multiple distinct policies related to LGBTQ inclusion in—or exclusion from—school curricula or standards. The blueprint below summarizes whether states have an LGBTQ-inclusive curricular standards law or any of the monitoring LGBTQ-specific school censorship laws: "Don't Utter LGBTQ" laws, older laws censoring discussions of homosexuality, and parental opt-out/opt-in laws. The tabs above link to specific maps with more information about each type of curricular policy. Click "Citations & More Information" beneath the map legend for more data about each type of laws, and learn more aboutthe importance of inclusive curricular standards from GLSEN.
State has an LGBTQ-inclusive curricular standards law (8 states)
State has none of these LGBTQ-specific curricular laws (23 states , 5 territories + D.C.)
State has at least one LGBTQ-specific school censorship
LGBTQ+ is an inclusive word for people of all genders and sexualities. While each letter in Queer stands for a specific group of people, the term is inclusive of the entire spectrum of gender fluidity and sexual identities that exist.
The first four letters of the acronym have been used since the 1990s, but in recent years there has been an increased awareness of the require to be inclusive of other sexual identities in order to offer improved representation.
LGB stands for female homosexual, gay and bisexual. The T in LGBTQ+ refers to someone’s gender persona. It stands for trans, which is a phrase for someone who identifies as a different gender than what was assigned on their birth certificate. The Q stands for questioning or queer. Questioning is when a person is exploring their sexuality, gender identity or gender expression. Queer is used as an inclusive designation or as a one-of-a-kind celebration of not moulding to social norms.
More recently, LGBTQIA+ has been used, with an additional two letters at the terminate of the acronym. The I stands for intersex and is used for individuals who don’t fit into specific gender norms of women or men. It can also be used for those with reproductive anatomy
Teachers Are Divided on Education LGBTQ Topics
A little more than half of educators believe they should tutor about LGBTQ topics, according to a recent Learning Week poll. That’s even though surveys have start safety and academic benefits to LGBTQ youth when having access to inclusive curriculum at school.
There can be a number of reasons for the hesitation specifically to teach about things like LGBTQ history, and major court cases tied to LGBTQ identities, experts said. Teachers dread parental pushback; they encounter a dearth of curriculum options, and even when there are resources ready, they may not understand what to look for; they may not hold received training on the subject; or they simply don’t want to become something wrong.
One estimate from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law found that shut to 10 percent of the U.S. population of teens ages 13-17 are LGBTQ youth. At a time when these students’ identities are being targeted by legislation across the country—such as bathroom bills, laws limiting classroom discussions on gender and sex, banned books featuring lgbtq+ couples—advocates say there is a need for students to engage in conversations in class that append
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By Manav Lund, Lofty School Senior • IDRA Newsletter • September 2022 •
If proponents of equity in our schools own learned anything in the past year, it is that the spotlight is not always a nice thing. Vitriolic fear mongering at the hands of far-right politicians has resulted in a nationwide campaign to censor curricula with any analyses of inequity. LGBTQ+ topics, in particular, have faced unfair scrutiny.
Critics purport that LGBTQ+ inclusive lessons are inappropriate and would distract from vital curricula, when in existence, creating affirming lessons to enrich history, social science and language arts curricula can be incredibly beneficial and fairly easy. The callous and wildly misinformed effort to censor Queer topics in our classrooms represents a dangerous trend of the government-sanctioned repression of progressive ideas.
To deprive any student access to inclusive, affirming education is far more dangerous than curricula that dare talk about the facts that (1) LGBTQ+ people exist, and (2) they deserve basic human dignity.
As of belated, the political right has whirled up various intertwining narratives that serve to oppose curricula with Gay