蜜桃影视

Update, June 13: Erik Adamian’s title changed from “education and outreach manager” at the ONE Archives Foundation to “associate director of education” before the original publish date of this story.聽

Bayard Rustin was a lead organizer of the March on Washington in 1963, a close confidante of Martin Luther King Jr. and a fiery voice for desegregation. In most U.S. history classes, that might be all students are asked to learn about him. But Rustin was also openly gay, and he became a prominent gay rights advocate. That fact in particular might now receive new attention in public school classrooms in Colorado and New Jersey.

Those two states are the first to follow in California鈥檚 footsteps by mandating recognition of the contributions of LGBTQ people in history and social studies curricula earlier this spring. The legislation 鈥� combined with similar measures under consideration in New York and Illinois and votes to lift curricular restrictions on LGBTQ content in Alabama and Arizona 鈥� marks a flurry of state policy changes on the subject this year.

Nationally, most states don鈥檛 have explicit rules around if and how teachers discuss gender and sexuality in the classroom. But the impact of LGBTQ-inclusive course content can be powerful, advocates say. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national LGBTQ education organization, has found that schools with inclusive curricula were feelings of acceptance toward LGBTQ students and have lower rates of student absenteeism linked to feeling unsafe.

So far, however, LGBTQ representation in curriculum has been slow to take hold. Although only eight states have some kind of legislation restricting LGBTQ content in the classroom, including Texas and Florida, a found that only about a quarter of teachers incorporate LGBTQ topics into their lessons.

In states without clear guidelines, teachers often report feeling unsure about how to make their curriculum more representative, says Mara Sapon-Shevin, professor of inclusive curriculum at Syracuse University. They鈥檙e also concerned about pushback from parents.

鈥淢ost teachers want to do it right and want to do it well but feel underprepared and not well resourced,鈥� she says.

A growing number of national organizations have been working to help equip teachers with the tools to tackle potentially controversial topics, including LGBTQ history. ONE Archives Foundation is the oldest active LGBTQ organization in the country and has long worked to build public awareness of queer history. Recognizing the growing demand for LGBTQ content, the organization has begun collaborating with the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles LGBT Center to produce on feminist writer Audre Lorde, slain San Francisco official Harvey Milk and other LGBTQ figures and groups.

The other obstacle teachers can face is fear over parental objection 鈥� especially in states that haven鈥檛 passed inclusivity statutes.

鈥淚 talk to teachers a lot about these issues, and they’ve very engaged … but also scared about getting in trouble,鈥� Sapon-Shevin says.

ONE Archives is based in Los Angeles, and it focuses mostly on California, which passed the , ensuring LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, in 2011. But the organization has begun to work with teachers across the country and recognizes how complicated introducing LGBTQ content can be in a state without protections for it, says Erik Adamian, associate director of education for the ONE Archives Foundation.

鈥淭he only reason why backlash can鈥檛 and does not go any further than a bunch of protests [here] … is because we have the FAIR Education Act,鈥� says Adamian.

鈥淪ometimes the best thing we can say [to teachers] is 鈥楬ang in there.鈥� If there is an effort like the law in California, then we will be there,鈥� he says.

For states with restrictions on LGBTQ content, the policies apply specifically to sex education and how teachers can describe safe practices to their students. The details of these measures run the gamut, according to Clifford Rosky, a law professor at the University of Utah.

In South Carolina, for example, state legislation prohibits health education teachers from engaging in any 鈥渄iscussion of alternate sexual lifestyles from heterosexual relationships.鈥� But in North Carolina, teachers are told simply to explain 鈥渢he benefits of heterosexual relationships.鈥�

Although these policies only specifically cover sex education lessons, many teachers run into confusion over whether mentioning a historical figure鈥檚 gender identity or sexuality counts as sex education content, Rosky said.

鈥淭he design of the laws was to make broad ambiguous prohibitions so that the topic would be ignored altogether,鈥� he said.

Since 2017, Utah, Arizona and Alabama have lifted LGBTQ curricular restrictions 鈥斅燼 move Rosky says generally garners more bipartisan support than instituting inclusivity mandates. Legislation that bans discussions of LGBTQ people increasingly lacks broad support, even among conservative groups. The repeal votes in the Utah House and Senate were both nearly unanimous. The reasons more states haven鈥檛 removed these policies, says Rosky, have more to do with the cost, time and potential for outing LGBTQ children in lawsuits than ideological opposition.

On the other hand, conservative groups have strongly challenged mandates, arguing that references to gender and sexuality shouldn鈥檛 be forced in schools and are best reserved for family discussions. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent conservative Christian organization, has fought against incorporating LGBTQ content into public school curriculum.

The ADF did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but a discussing 鈥減arents鈥� rights鈥� reads, 鈥淭oday, sexually explicit or homosexual materials are frequently mandated for children as young as kindergarten, many times against their parents鈥� will, and often in the name of 鈥榯olerance鈥� or 鈥榮afe school lessons.鈥欌��

Republican officials have also expressed skepticism about mandating LGBTQ history lessons. After the Illinois House of Representatives approved an inclusivity mandate, state Rep. Tom Morrison , 鈥淗ere’s what parents in my district said: 鈥楬ow or why is a historical figure鈥檚 sexuality or gender self-identification even relevant? Especially when we’re talking about kindergarten and elementary school history.鈥欌��

Ultimately, however, the call is rising for students of color, students with disabilities, immigrant students and those from other marginalized groups to learn with materials that reflect their experiences, says Sapon-Shevin. LGBTQ curriculum is just one part of that shift.

Rosky agrees, noting that throughout history anti-LGBTQ discrimination was justified by a desire to protect children.

鈥淲hat we saw in the last several decades is an increasing recognition that actually discrimination against LGBT people doesn’t protect any children 鈥� what it does is harm children,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t harms LGBT children and the children of LGBT people.鈥�

Noting the prominent anti-gay activist campaign, Rosky said, 鈥淚n some sense, the LGBT movement is saying, 鈥楴o, no, no, save our 肠丑颈濒诲谤别苍.鈥欌赌�

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