Illinois public schools will begin including LGBT history into their curriculum following the signing of a bill in August.
The bill will take effect from July 2020, making Illinois the fourth US state–behind California, New Jersey and Colorado–to feature LGBTQ history in their teaching material.
The new teaching material aims to make the history more inclusive for all peoples of all sexual orientations.
“It is my hope that educating students about the important roles LGBTQ individuals have played in our country will help them develop a deeper understanding of history and a more compassionate view of their peers,” said Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago).
Sen. Steans, who co-sponsored the bill went onto say: “Schools also will provide positive reinforcement for LGBTQ students by highlighting the important contributions of other LGBTQ individuals.”
The HB 246 bill, signed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, states in relation to grant funds:
With regard to the textbook block grant program, provides that the textbooks authorized to be purchased must include the roles and contributions of all people protected under the Illinois Human Rights Act and must be non-discriminatory as to any of the characteristics under the Act. Provides that textbooks purchased with grant funds must be non-discriminatory. Provides that in public schools only, the teaching of history of the United States shall include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this State.
Some American schools have gone to great lengths to include LGBT elements into their teaching material.
One school in Texas circumvented internal procedures by deliberately failing to conduct a background check on a convicted felon who visited the school in the capacity of a drag queen.
National File reports:
In email communications between the school’s librarian, Roger Grape, and Robinson; the librarian admitted that Robinson’s visit may have been rejected if a full background check had been carried out.
The email partly read: “the guidelines for submission automatically disqualify me if the deferred adjudication for prostitution is considered a conviction… so I don’t know if [it’s] ethical to submit.”
The visit was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on October 7th. However, Robinson is recorded to have stayed the entire school day.
Earlier this year, Infowars host Owen Shroyer confronted Robinson at a separate event at a public library in Austin.
After waiting for the event to conclude, Shroyer approached Robinson and asked if he was aware that child predators had infiltrated another Drag Queen Story Hour. Robinson stated that he knew about this.
