Facts About the FAIR Education Act, AKA Senate Bill 48 (SB 48)
Rectifying Disinformation, Misinformation, and Propaganda About the California Laws and School Policies Safeguarding Diversity and Inclusion
By Vic Gerami
According to cosponsors Equality California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, the purpose of Senate Bill 48 (SB 48) was to end the exclusion of LGBT history in education and to promote school safety. After Gov. Jerry Brown signed it, it became the FAIR Education Act. The purpose of the act is based on a study by the California Safe Schools Coalition showing that inclusion of LGBT people in instructional materials is linked to greater student safety at school for both straight and gay students and lower rates of bullying. The California SB 48 Fact Sheet states that in schools where the contributions of the LGBT community are included in educational instruction, bullying declined by over half, and LGBT students were more likely to feel they have an opportunity to make positive contributions at school.
SB 48’s changes to the California Education Code took effect in January 2012,instructing public schools and the State Board to:
Add instruction in history-social science about the role and contribution of persons with disabilities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans; and other ethnic and cultural groups to the economic, political, and social development of California and the United States, with a particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society,
Prohibit teachers from instructing or a school district from sponsoring any activity that promotes discriminatory bias based on race or ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, nationality, or sexual orientation, and
Adopt textbooks and instructional materials that accurately portray groups as identified.
The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education’s Diversity and LGBTQ Inclusion Reforms are essentially the same as Senate Bill 48, also known as the “FAIR Education Act,” which mandates that California public schools include the contributions of LGBTQ Americans in their social studies curriculum, making LAUSD one of the first districts to implement this statewide legislation.
Key points about the connection: Senate Bill 48 (SB 48)
California state law requires public schools to include the historical contributions of LGBTQ people in their social studies curriculum.
LAUSD Implementation
The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education has actively implemented SB 48’s requirements, incorporating LGBTQ history and experiences into its teaching materials and curriculum.
In 2011, the Los Angeles Unified School District became the first California school district to implement SB 48 — the bill passed by the state legislature requiring school districts to include the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans in their social studies curriculum.
The district approved a resolution that includes a new curriculum for students that would include positive lessons about LGBT individuals. It also calls for training teachers on how to address gay students and their issues to ban anti-gay bullying on school campuses. One element of the bill would require teachers to intervene if they hear students using anti-gay rhetoric.
2023 Developments
In 2023, days after a Pride Month assembly at a North Hollywood elementary school prompted a protest by dozens of upset parents, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday encouraging all district schools to incorporate lessons on the LGBTQ+ community into their curriculum.
The resolution introduced by Board President Jackie Goldberg and Member Nick Melvoin served as the board’s official recognition of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month — while also honoring October as LGBTQ+ History Month; Oct. 11 as National Coming Out Day; Nov. 20 as Transgender Day of Remembrance; March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility; and April 12 as a Day of Silence honoring the contribution of the LGBTQ+ community.
It noted that research has suggested that 25% of high school-age students in the country identify as LGBTQ+ and youth identifying as LGBTQ+ are at a higher risk for experiencing homelessness, being victims of bullying, and attempting or dying by suicide, and national research indicates that mental health struggles and rates of suicidal thoughts have trended upward among LGBTQ+ youth in recent years.
