FAIR Education Act: SB 48 Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful

1. FAIR Education Act: SB 48Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful

2. FAIR Education Act: SB 48 Bill Number: SB 48 “The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act would amend the Education Code to include social sciences instruction on the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. This bill would also prohibit discriminatory instruction and discriminatory materials from being adopted by the State Board of Education.” http://www.eqca.org/site/pp.asp?c=kuLRJ9MRKrH&b=6451639

3. Background statistics:LGBT youths experience in schools 85% gay teen report harassment at school and 2/3 of those people felt unsafe at school. Approximately 28% of gay and lesbian youth drop out of high school because of discomfort (due to verbal and physical abuse) in the school environment. Gay students hear anti-gay slurs as often as 26 times each day; faculty intervention occurs in only about 3% of those cases. In a typical class of 30 students, 8 students (27% of the class) will be directly affected by homosexuality of self, one or more siblings, or one or both parents. Gays and lesbians are the most frequent victims of hate crimes. (Source www.pflagphoenix.org)

4. Nabozny vs. Podlesny Students severally harrased and attacked Jamie. Although they knew of the abuse, school officials said at one point that Nabozny should expect it if he’s gay. In 1996 the Ashland Wisconsin School District settled alawsuit and paid Jamie $900,000 for not providing him protection from the antigay violence he endured in secondary school. http://www.jamienabozny.com/

5. Flores v. Morgan Hill Unified School District In 1998, Alana Flores, Freddie Fuentes, Jeanette Dousharm, and three other students sued the Morgan Hill Unified School District in Morgan Hill, California, charging that school district employees repeatedly ignored or minimized many reports by the students that they were being abused by others who thought they were gay The case settled on January 6, 2004.  As a result of the settlement, the district will implement a comprehensive training program for administrators, staff, and students to combat anti-gay harassment. Source(/www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/aclu-history-youth-and-schools)

6. Dissenting Opinion • Forces children to study materials that tell them their families’ values are wrong • It forces schools to review and replace their curriculum at a time when this money should be used for other purposes. • It does not allow parents to protect their kids by opting out of classes that promote homosexuality. • It requires a selective treatment of history by requiring that only events that reflect positively on people in the LGBT community may be discussed. • Testimony from several teachers showed they struggled to cope with escalating tension between LGBT students and their bullies. • http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/group_against_ca_gay_history_law_fails_to_get_enou.php • http://mainfo.blogspot.com/2011/07/attn-ca-bloggers-anti-gay-history-in-ca.html

7. Dissenting Opinion: Ways to Improve • Students not reporting bullying is the number one issue schools are having with dealing with the problems. • Gay-Straight Alliance groups in schools has allowed for straight and gay members to coexist and bring awareness to one another. • School districts across the country are now training teachers and students in techniques to stop bullying. • http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gq2ZIfSRqPobdc4iFoWOcPhhmmNg?docId=f710afad01f64ad0847af4dd938d7b23

8. California Governor, Jerry Brown Signed bill SB48 on July 14, 2011 "History should be honest. 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.’’

9. LGBT Inclusion in K-12 Curriculum Harvey Milk First openly gay man to be elected into office.

10. Jasper Johns Flag Above White, 1955 Robert Rauschenberg Retroactive I, 1964

11. Impact on Education • Curriculum helps to make students aware of the hate and discrimination that LGBT people face. • Educators have to responsibility to provide a safe learning environment. • When teachers show students that homosexual people exist, are normal and are leaders within history this is a primary method of breaking down homophobia and hate.

12. Bibliography • *American Perspective*: ATTN: CA BLOGGERS! Anti Gay History in CA schools Petition drive has started!. (n.d.). *American Perspective*. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://mainfo.blogspot.com/2011/07/attn-ca-bloggers-anti-gay-history-in-ca.html • California Schools Scrambling to Add Lessons on LGBT Americans. (2011, October 11). Los Angles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://articles.latimes.comCalifornia Schools Scrambling to Add Lessons on LGBT Americans • Gov. Brown signs bill requiring teaching of gay accomplishments. (2011, July 14). Los Angles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://articles.latimes.comGov. Brown signs bill requiring teaching of gay accomplishments • Group Against CA Gay History Law Fails To Get Enough Signatures For Repeal | TPMMuckraker. (n.d.). TPMMuckraker. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/group_against_ca_gay_history_law_fails_to_get_enou.php • Home Page. (n.d.). Jamie Nabozny. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from www.jamienabozny.com • Homosexual history. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from en.wikipedia.org • PFLAG Phoenix:¬† Homepage. (n.d.). PFLAG Phoenix:¬† Homepage. Retrieved November 6, 2011, from http://www.pflagphoenix.org