The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act, Senate bill 48, will go into effect on January 2012 in California’s K-12 public schools.
Governor Jerry Brown signed The FAIR Education Act into law on July 14. The bill would require that social studies instruction provide a fair and exact depiction of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, LGBT, civil rights movement and the historic contributions made by individuals of the LGBT community.
The bill was introduced by State Senator Mark Leno, a Democrat from San Francisco, and co-sponsored by two organizations, the Gay-Straight Alliance Network and Equality of California, in hopes of providing a safe atmosphere in the public education system of California.
“Today we are making history by ensuring that our textbooks and instructional materials no longer exclude the contributions of LGBT Americans,” said Leno according to a July 14 article from Equality of California.
However, opponents have contested the bill. Organizations such as Protect Kids Foundation, and Campaign for Children and Families, have led a counter movement against the FAIR Education Act. Concerned about the bill, Protect Kids Foundation released an article on Feb. 28 written by an unidentified “staff writer,” titled “Help Stop Passage of California SB 48 Requiring Promotion of Homosexuality in Grades K-12.”
The article says that the basic and fundamental academic subjects would eventually become a “celebration of gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual lifestyles.” In addition to this, the organization asked the public to call and write to their state senator, and it is suggested to add the following message at the end of the letter, “it is crucial that we demonstrate that the public is against SB 48 and its attempt to corrupt the minds of our innocent school children.”
Leonardo Vega, 27, advertisement and illustration major, opposes the bill because he feels that the issue should be addressed at home and not school. “I don’t think that we should be teaching kids about this stuff. This is something that should take place at home but obviously is not, there is a lack of parenting. But I just think it’s the wrong way,” said Vega.
“And Biblically, the truth is, I mean, it goes against everything that God wants for us,” he said. “The love that he has for us and the fulfilled life that we could reach through him …”
Leading two projects through savecalifornia.com and rescueyourchild.com, Campaign for Children and Families released a flyer that outlines the three main reasons why parents should take notice and be concerned about the FAIR Education Act.
The SaveCalifornia.com campaign is a pro-family organization and has led a counter movement against the FAIR Education Act. They released this flyer on one of their websites, rescueyourchild.com.
The concerns include the sexual indoctrination of children, the unlikely chance that your child will learn how to read proficiently, and the exposure of children to negative habits as a result of peer pressure. The flyer states that these habits include “lying, cussing, cheating, excessive dieting, wearing revealing clothes, pornography, sexual activity, smoking drugs, alcohol, and even violence.”
Vega said that there might be a chance that children will be subjected to these concerns as a result of the teaching of homosexuals in the public schools. “If you’re teaching about it, [it’s] obviously going to be okay … to live this kind of lifestyle,” he said. “And it’s just going to lead you to living … a crooked life.”
“I mean, I don’t think it’s good … because if you’re teaching about it at school, obviously you’re condoning it to be okay and it’s not okay,” Vega continued. “It’s everything against what the Bible has for a man and a woman and how we should live our life.”
With regards to the concern that children may be unlikely to learn how to read proficiently, Christopher T. Sweeten, Upward Bound project and program coordinator, broke out in laughter. “I [don’t] think that it is going to make [students] dumb or illiterate,” he said. “The material is going to bring in the interest of the youth,” he continued. “One thing when it comes to history classes is that a lot of youth feel disconnected because the information is outdated.”
Sweeten said that bringing in material that is current and recent will eventually engage students and will make them appreciate the reading. “And it may actually enable them to become better readers,” said Sweeten.
The Protect Kids Foundation says that the bill is disguised under “anti-bullying” or “diversity,” and says that in fact it is a “[promotion] of homosexuality, same-sex ‘marriage,’ bisexuality, transsexuality, sex change operations and cross dressing as positive role models.”
On the Protect the FAIR Education Act website, faireducationaction.com, proponents describe the bill’s purpose in their view. The website says that “The FAIR Education Act [requires] schools in California to integrate age-appropriate, factual information about social movements, current events and the history of people with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people into existing social studies lessons.” In addition, the lessons should include the “contributions of both men and women, people of color, diverse ethnic communities and other historically underrepresented groups.”
Sweeten, who works with local high school students in Pomona and La Puente through the Upward Bound Program, says that students have the level of maturity to deal with the history of the LGBT community. “Students within high school have the level of maturity to deal with the issue, as long as it is presented in a fair and equal manner and as long as the teacher is able to facilitate the discussion and it does not become offensive.”
However, Sweeten says that teachers will always bring in their own biases and opinions into their lectures. “Unless the teacher is really dedicated to having their students think critically, then they will put their own biases and opinions aside, and they will teach the material fairly and equitable, where they will bring in both sides of opinions, the conservative and liberal,” Sweeten said.
The proponents of the FAIR Education Act say that the bill will prevent schools from adopting learning materials that are discriminatory. “Materials with a discriminatory bias or negative stereotypes based solely on race, ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation that can alienate students and foster an environment where bullying thrives,” said faireducationaction.com.
Laura Gonzalez, education advisor of the TRiO ACES Program, which aids students from disadvantaged backgrounds, is enthusiastic about the FAIR Education Act.
“I am very excited and I think it is a long overdue legislation, because it is part of our history and our young people need to learn about it,” Gonzalez said.
As a parent, Gonzalez hopes that the issue of bullying is addressed because the current education system is troubled and weak. “The acceptance of everyone is not always promoted because many times our leaders in education are not open minded people, or aren’t focused in equality,” she said. “But I am very excited for my son to come home and bring up those discussions,” she continued. “I’m glad this is something he won’t only be getting at home but also at school.”
Gonzalez said that regardless of what the focus is in the classroom, her son will be learning about the LGBT community and the issues because he might or might not identify with the community one day. “I am not afraid about my son learning about the history of the LGBT community,” she said.
In the event he were to identify with the LGBT community, Gonzalez she would “want him to feel empowered about what that history is like and see himself reflected on it.”
According to faireducationaction.com, in the course of studies, students will be taught about the modern day LGBT civil rights movement, events such as the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and important legislations involving people with disabilities, such as the American Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Ana Karen, 18, philosophy and psychology major said that she would encourage her younger sister to learn about the community and expressed her opposition to the religious opponents of the LGBT community. “I definitely think it is ethical to not persecute gay individuals,” Karen said.
“I honestly hate it when religious people start to claim that the Bible is a moral thing and at the same time they are persecuting,” Karen said. “I would really encourage my little sister to learn about this and would rather her learn that gays are absolutely normal and there is nothing to be feared or neglected, rather than reading the Bible.”
As for students from the gay community on campus, some feel that such a bill empowers the identity of the LGBT community.
Esteban Jarero, 20, Mathamatics major said, “It empowers me because our history will finally be out there and we will no longer be closed off from everyone else.”
The faireducationaction.com website stated that the bill would only require the teaching of factual, age-appropriate teaching of history. The bill would also “empower parents to provide input about social studies lessons at the local level.”
In addition, the FAIR Education Act will add no additional costs to the state because “periodically, the State Board of Education updates its education standards and textbooks,” the site said. “The next update is set for 2015.”
The opponents of the bill had until Oct. 12 to collect 500,000 signatures in order to qualify for the June 2012 state ballot. That same day, the website stopsb48.com announced that they did not meet the requirements to overturn the bill. “We fought the law, and the law won,” the site announced. “Unfortunately we did not collect enough signatures to qualify the referendum to overturn SB48. That law will be in place in our schools at the first of next year.”
-Josue Velasquez
Staff Writer
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“However, Sweeten says that teachers will always bring in their own biases and opinions into their lectures”
Of course they do, everyone does. That’s why it’s important to get as many different views as possible and let people decide for themselves. Dragging kids out of school for indoctrination at home is the worst thing you can do. Oh, and it’s bad for socialisation skills too.
Man’s an evil idiot.