by Hannah Chertock ‘12

This July, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new bill requiring California schools to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) content in public schools’ curriculum. The new law, SB 48, is an expansion on California’s previous law which requires content in public schools on women, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, European Americans and the Labor Movement. The law will take effect by January of the 2011-2012 school year.

“History should be honest,” Brown stated in an interview with the Huffington Post. “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.”

Though California’s new law is a step towards LGBT education in America. No such law exists for MCPS curriculum. “MCPS has indicators and standards that we need to teach and assess,” said Joe Sangillo, head of the social studies department and sponsor of Stand Proud club, Sherwood’s gay-straight alliance. “There’s nothing specifically that mandates us to teach anything related to gay history.”

Sangillo teaches AP U.S. History and briefly touches on an important turning point in American gay history though it is not highlighted in the curriculum. Sociology and Philosophy classes brush upon gay history from a social science perspective rather than highlighting gay historical figures.

“My personal opinion is it would be wonderful to teach more specific gay history in [MCPS] history classes,” Sangillo said. “I think that it would help gay people and straight people … it would be great for a kid to be like ‘Oh, Walt Whitman was gay.’”

Controversy in California has arisen over this recently signed bill with some organizations attempting to repeal the bill through petition and protest.

“It’s ridiculous that Jerry Brown says he’s making history ‘honest,’” wrote Randy Thomasson, president and founder of SaveCalifornia.com, an organization that identifies itself as a “pro-family” organization. “The bill he signed prohibits teachers and textbooks from telling children the facts that homosexuality has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, higher cancer rates, and earlier deaths. These important facts about lifestyles children will [be] forced to admire will be omitted. And Brown calls this ‘honest’?”

California’s passage of SB 48 has thus far sparked controversy. “I think it’s a very polarizing issue,” Sangillo commented. “A fundamental point that I think is misunderstood by a lot of people [is that] there’s a difference between identity and behavior. It sort of spun in this way that people think we’re teaching sex to second graders. It has nothing to do with sex. Sex is a behavior. Being gay is an identity … There would be a mixed reaction [if Sherwood added LGBT content in its curriculum.] Some people would support it, some people would be against it. I think generally Sherwood is a pretty tolerant place.”