NJ to incorporate LGBTQ+ education into statewide curriculum

New Jersey has moved toward more inclusive public education with the signing of a bill requiring every board of education to incorporate the history of individuals with disabilities and individuals of the LGBTQ+ community into the social studies curriculum.

The bill, NJ S1569, states that instruction materials will be adopted to accurately portray the social, economic and political contributions of LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. By signing this bill, New Jersey became the second state after California to require such a curriculum.

New Jersey is known to be one of the top states in the country for education. It is ranked number two in overall education, according to U.S. News & World Report. The state has also made legal strides toward protecting LGBTQ+ students and students who have mental and physical disabilities with comprehensive anti-discrimination and anti-bullying laws. Federal laws like the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) prohibit discrimination and establish equal rights to education. 

“Previously there were people who were LGBTQ+ included in curriculum based on their accomplishments and merits, but they weren't necessarily identified as being LGBTQ+ oriented, and so in that sense they still remained invisible," said Melinda Mangin, an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education.

Only 1 in 4 students in New Jersey schools reported being taught positive representations of LGBTQ+ people, their history and events, according to the Gay and Lesbian Independent School Teacher’s Network (GLSEN) 2017 National School Climate Survey. The survey found that a majority of LGBTQ+ students reported feeling unsafe or discriminated against in New Jersey schools.

“By tackling ignorance and demonstrating how they are represented, we may see a decrease in harassment and bullying related to LGBTQ+ students," Mangin said.

While there is limited research on the school climate for students with disabilities in New Jersey, 40 percent of civil rights claims filed against schools and universities nationwide in 2017 involved cases of discrimination against students with disabilities, according to a report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Children with disabilities and special health needs are also at a greater risk of being bullied than other students and risk being disciplined twice as often as other students.

“Generally, whether the contributions of LGBTQ+ people and those with disabilities were acknowledged by educators were heavily dependent on individual choices of said educators ... This bill helps to bring more holistic stories into the classroom," said Zaneta Rago-Craft, the director of the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities (SJE).

Coverage of LGBTQ+ inclusive material in classrooms varies more so between states. As of January 2018, Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas still had so-called “no promo homo” laws, which are education laws that prevent the positive representation of homosexuality or any representation of homosexuality at all in schools, according to a GLSEN Research Brief. Students in these states reported experiencing increased harassment and bullying.

“I think the presence of anti-LGBTQ+ bias is exactly why curriculums need to shift. Negative stereotypes are only perpetuated through ignorance. In addition, while changing the curriculum is important, it is equally important that schools work to increase affirming resources available to its students," Rago-Craft said.

Though the the bill has passed, enforcement and implementation will take place in the 2020-2021 school year. Opponents to the bill view LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum as a sensitive topic.

Len Deo, president of New Jersey Family Policy Council Family and opposer of the bill, said: “We believe it further erodes the right of parents to discuss this sensitive issue with their children, if in fact schools are going to be promoting and making the claim that this particular person was an LGBTQ+ member.”