SACRAMENTO — California became the nation’s first state to require its public schools to teach students about the history and contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people Thursday.
The new law, SB48, was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown today and will take effect in January.
“History should be honest,” Brown said in a statement.
The measure authored by Sen.Mark Leno , D-San Francisco, adds LGBT groups to a list of cultural and ethnic categories that school districts have previously been required to describe accurately and fairly in social studies classes.
Previously listed categories include minority groups and women.
“Today we are making history in California by ensuring that our textbooks and instructional materials no longer exclude the contributions of LGBT Americans,” Leno said.
Changes in textbooks used in California schools are not expected to appear until the 2015-16 school year, when the next round of textbook revision in the state will be put in place.
In the meantime, Leno said, the law also requires teachers to include lessons about the role and contributions of LGBT people, but gives them wide latitude in deciding how to do so and does not require specific lesson plans.
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