The Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD), the fifth largest school district in California, was in the process of adopting new K-8 Social Science and History textbooks. The proposed textbooks would comply with CA state law called the FAIR Act which requires K-8 History and Social Science to be LGBTQ-inclusive. The School Board had only received public comments opposed to the adoption of the textbooks because of its LGBT-inclusiveness.
I worked with a former board member to draft an email to EGUSD Board Members to show the club's support for the proposed curriculum and the importance of seeing members of the LGBT community reflected in textbooks.
The day after I send the emails, Board Member Nancy Chaires Espinoza responded thanking Stonewall for our advocacy and indicating that the comments she had heard thus far at largely been in opposition to the proposed curriculum.
In January 2019 following a Stonewall Board meeting discussion of the issue, I emailed Nancy to ask if she was available to talk with our members about the issues EGUSD is facing. Nancy was unavailable but suggested we invite Board Member Bobbie Singh-Allen, an ally of the LGBTQ community to come talk.
On January 14, 2019 EGUSD Bobbie spoke at the January Stonewall meeting. She said that our advocacy was needed, asked members to send letters and to attend EGUSD board meetings to speak during the public comment period in support of the proposed curriculum. At the time of the January meeting it was unclear when the board would be voting on whether or not to adopt the curriculum because agendas are posted just 72 hours in advance.
Later that night I took the tips and information shared by Bobbie and created resources such as template emails to board members, email addresses for board members, and information about the issue.
Stonewall members responded by sending emails expressing their support to EGUSD board members. The Sacramento Area Rainbow Families and other LGBT groups shared the resources provided by Stonewall.
On Tuesday February 5th the Stonewall board got notice that EGUSD would be voting that night. We sent out emails and spread the work on social media about the upcoming vote and encouraged as many people as possible to show up in person.
The EGUSD board meeting began at 6:00pm in a large room with a dais on one side of the room and lines of tables filing the room. Many people were standing around the edges of the room because there weren’t enough seats for everyone. Stonewall members and other LGBTQ community members that I recognized where there. There were several news cameras and reporters.
Over the course of the regular board meeting, people spoke on the proposed curriculum change during the general public comment period near the beginning of the meeting as well as during the comment period when the curriculum agenda item was called. When it came up on the agenda after what already seemed like a long meeting, EGUSD staff did a presentation about proposed curriculum and recommended adoption.
Public comment on the textbooks took hours. Each speaker had 2 minutes to talk, but many went over the time limit. It was an incredibly emotional and tense environment. There were likely approximately 100 people there to talk, and at least half of the people spoke in opposition. The people speaking in opposition talked about how they didn’t want their kids learning about gay sex and advocated for an opt-out option like with sex education. The amount of hostility and misinformation was staggering. Whenever a speaker would say something in opposition the crowd would erupt in applause and cheering.
When it was my turn to speak I was admittedly nervous. I had not expected the room to be filled with such hostility and hatred masked by people saying “I’m not homophobic but…” I read my notes, shared my personal story of struggling with my sexuality at 13 years old, and tried not to cry so much that I couldn’t get the words out.
When I had finished speaking I stepped out of the room to get a break from the hostility. Friends and strangers came up to me to support me and make sure that I was ok. Two strangers talked with me and hugged me.
Once all of the public comments were heard Board Members spoke, and each gave statements about their decision and the issues. Both Nancy and Bobbie were ardently in support of the proposed curriculum. When the final vote was called at around 9:50pm, the EGUSD Board voted unanimously to adopt the proposed curriculum which is LGBT-inclusive.
With the number of students and young people openly claiming LGBTQ and non-binary identities, I had hoped that parents and community members would be more understanding of the need to talk about role models and historical figures in the LGBTQ community. It was distressing to see how wrong I was, and how little has changed since I was in school.
The day after I send the emails, Board Member Nancy Chaires Espinoza responded thanking Stonewall for our advocacy and indicating that the comments she had heard thus far at largely been in opposition to the proposed curriculum.
In January 2019 following a Stonewall Board meeting discussion of the issue, I emailed Nancy to ask if she was available to talk with our members about the issues EGUSD is facing. Nancy was unavailable but suggested we invite Board Member Bobbie Singh-Allen, an ally of the LGBTQ community to come talk.
On January 14, 2019 EGUSD Bobbie spoke at the January Stonewall meeting. She said that our advocacy was needed, asked members to send letters and to attend EGUSD board meetings to speak during the public comment period in support of the proposed curriculum. At the time of the January meeting it was unclear when the board would be voting on whether or not to adopt the curriculum because agendas are posted just 72 hours in advance.
Later that night I took the tips and information shared by Bobbie and created resources such as template emails to board members, email addresses for board members, and information about the issue.
Stonewall members responded by sending emails expressing their support to EGUSD board members. The Sacramento Area Rainbow Families and other LGBT groups shared the resources provided by Stonewall.
On Tuesday February 5th the Stonewall board got notice that EGUSD would be voting that night. We sent out emails and spread the work on social media about the upcoming vote and encouraged as many people as possible to show up in person.
The EGUSD board meeting began at 6:00pm in a large room with a dais on one side of the room and lines of tables filing the room. Many people were standing around the edges of the room because there weren’t enough seats for everyone. Stonewall members and other LGBTQ community members that I recognized where there. There were several news cameras and reporters.
Over the course of the regular board meeting, people spoke on the proposed curriculum change during the general public comment period near the beginning of the meeting as well as during the comment period when the curriculum agenda item was called. When it came up on the agenda after what already seemed like a long meeting, EGUSD staff did a presentation about proposed curriculum and recommended adoption.
Public comment on the textbooks took hours. Each speaker had 2 minutes to talk, but many went over the time limit. It was an incredibly emotional and tense environment. There were likely approximately 100 people there to talk, and at least half of the people spoke in opposition. The people speaking in opposition talked about how they didn’t want their kids learning about gay sex and advocated for an opt-out option like with sex education. The amount of hostility and misinformation was staggering. Whenever a speaker would say something in opposition the crowd would erupt in applause and cheering.
When it was my turn to speak I was admittedly nervous. I had not expected the room to be filled with such hostility and hatred masked by people saying “I’m not homophobic but…” I read my notes, shared my personal story of struggling with my sexuality at 13 years old, and tried not to cry so much that I couldn’t get the words out.
When I had finished speaking I stepped out of the room to get a break from the hostility. Friends and strangers came up to me to support me and make sure that I was ok. Two strangers talked with me and hugged me.
Once all of the public comments were heard Board Members spoke, and each gave statements about their decision and the issues. Both Nancy and Bobbie were ardently in support of the proposed curriculum. When the final vote was called at around 9:50pm, the EGUSD Board voted unanimously to adopt the proposed curriculum which is LGBT-inclusive.
With the number of students and young people openly claiming LGBTQ and non-binary identities, I had hoped that parents and community members would be more understanding of the need to talk about role models and historical figures in the LGBTQ community. It was distressing to see how wrong I was, and how little has changed since I was in school.
This experience showed me how very important having LGBTQ people and allies in public office is, and how important it is to make sure your voice is heard.
Kim,
ReplyDeleteI have to say I had not heard of this controversy/vote before reading your post, but I was very relieved to hear that the board voted unanimously to accept the curriculum. The fact that half of the community that came to that meeting were actively opposed to adopting an LGBT-inclusive curriculum is upsetting to say the least, especially when, as you mention, many of them were spouting misinformation and homophobic rhetoric. I cannot imagine how it must have felt to speak in front of that hostile crowd with the amount of vulnerability and passion you put into your statement, but I was glad to hear you were able to get support once you stepped into the hallway.
I agree with you that it is incredibly important for schools to use curriculums that feature diversity and provide representation for everyone, and while it was very upsetting to read that many people still hold the same bigoted mindsets as they did when I was in school, I am proud the board was able to take this important step anyway.
Kim,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this story. Education policy is the area of law I'm most passionate about, but I didn't hear about this vote until you brought it up in class. I'n so relieved to hear that despite the vocal opposition of certain parents, the board still voted unanimously to accept the new curriculum. I'm especially disappointed since I'm from around the area, though for that reason I guess I am also not surprised. I still remember vividly when Proposition 8 was on the ballot back in 2008.It was always so disappointing to hear and see the support for the measure. The Sacramento area seems to be home to a lot of evangelical Christians, Catholics, and Mormons - all sects that have never been welcoming to the LGBTQ community. Whatever their (awful) religious objections are, it is so problematic that they are opposed to their children learning about the LGBTQ community because the children will learn about LGBTQ people anyway. Its as though these parents think that if their children aren't exposed to LGBTQ people, they will not end up identifying as such themselves. That is not only homophobic and terrible, but also blatantly not how it works.
Thank you for standing up for those children who need to see themselves represented, and to know that they are capable of great things.
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing. You are one of the most active members of the LGBTQ+ community that I know, and I just wanted to say thank you for everything that you do. I am so sorry that the community sounded so divided over the issue, and seemed so misinformed on the issue. I was really troubled that they appeared to think that learning about the Stonewall Riots or Windsor or Obergefell was the same thing as learning about sex.
Additionally, why would it be so bad if kids had sexual orientation inclusive sex ed? "Like, oh no, I have this knowledge on how not to get STDs/STIs, but I can only use some of it. Oh woe is me." I understand that it is a bit more nuanced than that, adding in religion and the first amendment and all, but still we are only hurting children by not giving them the information.
I am interested to hear what type of LGBTQ history they will now be including, so keep me posted on that, and again, thank you so much for speaking up and using your voice to better other people's lives.