Washington becomes the seventh state to mandate LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum

From NBC News:

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed a law last week that includes a mandate for the state’s public schools to teach LGBTQ history, as red and blue states continue to diverge on whether schools should expose kids to gay and transgender identities. 

The new law, Senate Bill 5462, mandates that the state’s school districts adopt curricula that is as “culturally and experientially diverse as possible,” including the histories of LGBTQ people, people of color and people with disabilities. Schools will be required to institute the inclusive curricula by the 2025-26 school year. 

 “The governor was happy to sign legislation that aims to ensure students of all races and identities feel safe and welcome at school,” Mike Faulk, a spokesperson for Inslee, said in an email Monday. Faulk also referred NBC News to research published in the journal Sex Education that suggests LGBTQ-inclusive curricula can reduce rates of bullying and make children feel safer in school.

 . . . Washington is the seventh state to enact legislation mandating that public schools incorporate LGBTQ-inclusive curricula in some capacity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank. The other six are: California, New Jersey, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada and Illinois, states that have been won by Democrats in the last four presidential elections. The law also comes as conservative lawmakers introduce record numbers of anti-LGBTQ measures, including legislation to regulate how LGBTQ issues are taught in public schools.

First of all, this proves yet again that voting always matter. If LGBTQ people are to get positive outcomes, we must put in elected officials who will work for those positive outcomes. Voting matters. Always.

Secondly, in light of all of the nonsense the LGBTQ community is facing now, it's easy to think that this doesn't matter. But it does matter.  When I was growing up, I would never dream of something like this. Being gay, or LGBTQ in general, was something a lot of folks tried to make shameful. We were shuttered into the closets and other dark places like we were something vile and fetid. Our lives were crudely sliced and diced into salacious stereotypes of oversexed, disease-ridden societal outcasts who should be kept away from kids and decent folks. 

Granted, it's still happening due to people like Chaya Raichik and statewide legislation attacking our health and safety. But even in the face of that, our community is still progressing. We are still moving forward. All of the mad talk about "grooming," all of the lies about gender-affirming care - particularly for our trans kids - may have slowed us, but it hasn't stopped us. In seven states - and I hope more in the future - kids will learn about our lives and history. They will learn that LGBTQ people exist and aren't people to be ashamed of. They will see that we have contributed to society and will continue to do so. And LGBTQ kids will be especially helped by this. 

In the onslaught of hate and misinformation, it becomes easy to forget that LGBTQ people don't stop moving forward. We are in a better place than we were before and that's due to our tenacity. And as each day passes, we will continue to be in better places. We don't stop because we can't stop. 

Our victory is inevitable.