Arizona Teachers Can Now Discuss LGBTQ Issues Without Worrying About the Law - Miranda Farrar

On Thursday, a law was repealed that restricted teachers from discussing LGBTQ issues in health class. The law banned teachers from promoting a "homosexual lifestyle", and it blocked them from discussing many issues. The article follows the story of a queer middle schooler who goes by S.C. and uses they/them pronouns. S.C. suffered through a lot of bullying in school, which was described in the lawsuit. The article also includes a chart of multiple state curriculums that surround LGBTQ issues.

If you can, please go read this article. It's really short, and if nothing else, go look at the chart. For the Texas curriculum, it says, "HIV/AIDS instructional materials for minors must 'state homosexual conduct is not an acceptable lifestyle and is a criminal offense.' Sex education should emphasize 'that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense.'" Many of these curriculums were created during or right after the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. This is real life. It's fantastic that our school is a safe place to be ourselves, but sometimes we forget that not everyone is safe. We still have so long to go to reach full equality in this country and this world. I didn't even know this was curriculum. Please go lookout this chart and educate yourself on what is actually happening in this society. We are not there yet, but we're one step closer to all LGBTQ kids not fearing for their safety.

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/15/712842522/arizona-teachers-can-now-discuss-lgbtq-issues-without-worrying-about-the-law