SB 48, California’s FAIR Education Act that ensures LGBT minorities and the disabled are fairly included in public school education lessons, is under attack by none other than the über anti-gay head of the über anti-gay certified hate group, Family Research Council’s (FRC) Tony Perkins. Perkins, in the video below, falsely claims that SB 48 will be a huge expense for California. In fact, SB 48 will cost the state nothing, as schoolbooks will be updated only in the regular update cycle, whenever the state buys new books.
SB 48 was signed into law and becomes effective in January, but anti-gay Perkins and his clan are trying to make SB 48 the next Prop 8.
Perkins, who, given his public views, and, subsequently, the views of the FRC on issues like evolution and climate change, is extremely anti-science, actually has the temerity to claim that SB 48, the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act, will take precious time away from the teaching of science.
FRC also claims that SB 48 “will require public schools to teach children as young as five not only to accept but also to endorse transgender, bisexual, and homosexual identity and behavior.”
Endorse? Really? Like LGBT people are going to be asking for the endorsement of five-year olds? Does that even make any sense?
“The FAIR Education Act would ensure that LGBT people are included in instructional materials, which studies have shown is linked to greater student safety and lower rates of bullying,” writes Equality California. “The FAIR Education Act would require that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans are included and recognized for their important historical contributions to the economic, political, and social development of California. Specifically, this legislation would add LGBT to the existing list of underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups, which are covered by current law related to inclusion in textbooks and other instructional materials in schools. This inclusion will help to ensure that students get a fair and accurate picture of the people and events that have shaped our society, and that fair and accurate portrayals of LGBT people are no longer” excluded from classroom discussions. The FAIR Education Act will bring classroom instruction into alignment with non- discrimination laws passed by the California Legislature and adopted by the State Board of Education a decade ago, by prohibiting the adoption of discriminatory instructional materials and textbooks.”
Zack Ford at Think Progress writes,
“Consider what FRC is objecting to: the very acknowledgment of same-sex families. There isn’t concern about teaching children that adults have romantic relationships (or that they might even kiss!). They just don’t want children to know that those two adults can be the same sex. Don’t forget that plenty of children come from same-sex families! These families are part of the school community! If FRC had its way, they would be completely erased and go unacknowledged.”
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