FAIR Act and Supporting LGBT Youth

Rob Darrow, Ed.D.
Director of Research Safe Schools Project
Santa Cruz County.
Lead 3. April 2018.
Rob’s Wiki:
http://robdarrow.wikispaces.com
Implementing the FAIR Act
and Supporting
LGBT Students

FAIR Act LGBT Students. Darrow
This is a Safe Space

A Little About me
● Director of Research and Professional Learning,
Safe Schools Santa Cruz
● LGBT History Consultant / Author, LGBT History
Curriculum Guides for 8th and 11th History
● Independent College and Career Counselor
● Lifelong CA Educator (Teacher, Administrator,
Tech Teacher, Librarian)

My Lens Today
 About the FAIR Act and
other laws
 What makes schools safe
and affirming ? (Especially for
LGBTQ Youth)
 How you can be proactive

Difference between:
➢Teaching LGBT history or
inclusive sex ed
➢ Advocating a lifestyle
➢ Promoting a religion
Note: Teachers have taught about
Puritanism or Muslim or sex ed for years in
history courses, but we don’t promote it

Why teach LGBT History?
➢More engaged learners
➢More inclusive schools / classrooms
➢All people have a his/her-story to share
➢LGBT history is American history
➢Fewer STD transmissions and unwanted
pregnancies with more education
➢It’s the law
SafeSchoolsProject.org

The Laws (Handout)
 2016 – Suicide Prevention Policies in
Schools
 2015 – California Healthy Youth Act
(CHYA): Sex Ed and HIV education must be
inclusive.
 2013 –School Success and Opportunity Act:
Transgender youth
 2011 –Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and
Respectful (FAIR) Act. LGBT history in
curriculum.

A little history:
History Curriculum in Ca
 1998: New Ca History Standards – first state to
adopt such standards. New textbooks.
 2010: Common Core Adopted.
 2011: Fair Education Act Passed. Added Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Americans to the
curriculum – especially related to history.
 2016: New State History Framework (LGBT
History included)
 2017: K-8 History Textbook Adoptions

The Challenge
Very few educators have ever taught or
learned LGBT history or inclusive Sex
Ed.
Members of the LGBT community don’t
know their own history – much written in
past 20 years.
How do we help teachers to learn and
teach this new content?

Your LGBTQ Knowledge
 Let’s play Kahoot! to see what you know…
 Individual or team

Who am I? Who are you?
What is my identity?
What is your identity?

What barriers prevent us from
embracing that
common humanity?
 Share one or two ideas with
someone near you.

A little history:
LGBTQ Terms and Year First Used
 L = Lesbian (1732)
 G = Gay (1955)
 B = Bisexual (1960)
 T = Transgender (1990)
 Q = Queer / Questioning (1894, 1990)

Why this matters:
A Few Stories

Frank Kameny
 1925 – Born in NY
 1941 – Joined Army
 1956 – Harvard: Doctorate
in Astronomy
 1957 – Hired by U.S. Army
Map Service – Produced
maps for U.S. military

Frank Kameny
 1953: President Eisenhower signs
Executive Order 10450.
 “Immoral and sexual perversion
were a security risk – sexual
deviants” (In place until 1975).
 1957: Kameny released from
government service
 1960: Files lawsuit. Supreme Court
denies claim. First civil rights claim
based on sexual orientation
 1960: Forms Mattachine Society in
Washington DC to advocate for
gay people.

Frank
Kameny
 1965: First of many protests at the White House
 1973: Lobbies American Psychological
Association to remove gay/lesbian as a disease.
 2010: Present at the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t
Tell” signed by President Obama
 2011: Dies at age 86

Charlotte Parkhurst
 1812 - Born in New Hampshire
 Mother dies – becomes an orphan
 1824. Age 12. Disguises self as male – becomes
“Charley”
 Takes a job as a stable hand with Ebenezer Balch.
 Loves horses. Becomes an accomplished
coachmen living in Massachusetts and Rhode
Island.

Charley
Parkhurst
 1851 – Moves to California. “I aim to be the best
damn driver in the West.”
 @1855 – While shoe-ing a horse got kicked and
lost his eye – “One Eyed Charley”
 1850-1870: Stage driver Sacramento to Mariposa;
San Jose to Watsonville. “One of the best stage
drivers in California.”
 1870 – Retires in Santa Cruz Mountains

Charley Parkhurst
 1879 – Dies. During
examination, it is discovered
that Charley is female.
 Lived most of life as a male.
 Registered to vote – may have
been first woman to vote (prior
to 1910).
 Buried in Watsonville,
California.
 Some consider Parkhurst to be
transgender by today’s
standards.

David Schroer
 1959: Born in Chicago
 1979: Joins the military
 Special Forces Commander
 Haiti Special Forces Commander
 Post 911 Coordinated Secret
Counterterrorism Unit in Pentagon
 Briefed VP Dick Cheney on secret
missions
 2004: Retires from Military
 2005: Applies for job with Library
of Congress. Job Offered.

Diane Schroer
 Shares that she is transitioning to Diane
(Transgender male to female).
Library of Congress rescinds job offer.
 2005 – Files employment lawsuit – Title VII
(Schroer v. Billington – Library of Congress)
 2008 – U.S. District Court – Discrimination and
$500,000 awarded
 Works in Pentagon advising transgender affairs

Ronin Shimizu
 2nd Grade: Joins Cub Scouts
 4th Grade: Became a cheerleader – Vista
Junior Eagles Cheer Team
 Enjoyed art and fashion – made his own
clothes
• 2002: Born in Folsom, Ca

Ronin Shimizu
 2008: Began being bullied and taunted
with: “gay,” “girly” and “a fag,”
 2008-2012: Moved to different schools to
escape the bullying
 2012: Awoke every day worried about who
would pick on him.
 2014: Removed from school, placed on
Independent Study program

Ronin Shimizu
 2014 (December):
Took his own life (Age 12)

Stats
 20% of homeless youth are LGBT youth.
 63% of LGBT students in California report
being harassed because of their sexual
orientation or gender expression (2015,
GLSEN)
 But, very few of them reported
 More than 30% of all students reported
being bullied or harassed in California (Ca
Healthy Kids Survey, 2013)

5 Variables that impact Safe and
Affirming Schools…
Especially for LGBTQ Youth
 1. Administrative leaders
 policies and actions that create a culture of
acceptance and inclusiveness
 2. Teacher and Curriculum leaders
 LGBT history integrated into various courses,
school library books, inclusive sex education
Darrow, R. (2015). Implementation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender (LGBT) Inclusive Policies and Curriculum in California School
Districts and Recommendations for Creating Safe School Environments.

5 Variables that impact Safe and
Affirming Schools…
Especially for LGBTQ Youth
 3. Student leaders
 Gay straight alliances, yearly supportive events
e.g. National Coming Out Day or Day of
Silence
 4. Health leaders
 HIV prevention / Sex Education
 5. Mental health leaders
 ongoing programs to promote wellness and
reduce bullying, sexual assault and suicide

The Bottom Line
 We want all students to be
successful in school – to be engaged
and happy – and to be college and
career ready.
If school is safe and affirming for
LGBTQ students – it will be safe and
affirming for all students.
More cost effective when students
graduate from high school

Curriculum as a Mirror / Window
 Think about how
school curriculum is
a mirror (reflecting
who you are) and a
window (looking at
others experiences)

State History Framework
11th Grade Themes – LGBT History
(Most new content here)
 Romantic Friendships Increase Women’s Rights
(1890-1930)
 Gays in the Military from the Civil War to Don’t
Ask Don’t Tell (1860-2010)
 Harlem Renaissance: As Gay as it was Black
(1917-1935)
 The Lavender Scare and the 1950s (1918-2011)
 Amendments, Laws and Court Decisions
Expand Equality (1868-2015)

State History Framework –
8th Grade Content: LGBT History
 The Constitution and the 14th Amendment
 Westward Movement and Gender Diversity in
Frontier Life Through Photo Analysis (1800-
1870)
 Native Americans, Gender Roles and Two-Spirit
People
 Cross-Dressing or “Passing Women” in the Civil
War

State History Framework –
2nd – 5th Grade: LGBT History
 2nd: During family unit, families may be two dads
or two moms or a dad and a mom or one parent,
etc.
 California Gold Rush – Majority of miners were
men.
 Native Americans and Two-Spirit Traditions

LGBT History in Context of
Other Social Movements
 Latinx (gender inclusive term)
 African American
 Asian
 Civil Rights
 Women
 Gay and Lesbian
 Transgender

Intersectionality Lens
 Intersectionality is an important lens that
is used to better understand the lived
experiences of individuals across
identities, both those identities
that hold power in society, as well as
those that
experience marginalization in society
(Warner & Shields, 2013).

Questions to Consider?
 Does it matter if a person in history was
male or female?
white, African American or LatinX or
Asian?
gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgender?

What is happening where
you are?
What do you do in your County Office
or school district or schools to
promote safe and inclusive schools?
 Administratively
 Teachers
 Students
 Support Staff

You Can Be Proactive – 5 Ps
 Policies (Consider adding LGBTQ to LCAP or
School Safety Plans)
 Put a rainbow flag or safe space symbol in your
classroom or office
 Power of presence. Visit a GSA in your school or
district and ask them to share with you if they feel
safe. (Or encourage the development of one)
 Participate in national coming out day or day of
silence.
 Promote safe schools every day…in your words
and in your actions

Ideas from Santa Cruz County
 Start an LGBTQ Task Force –
countywide or throughout your school
district
 Does your website include information
for LGBTQ families?
 Annual Queer Youth Leadership
Awards – 21st year honoring youth –
every May in Santa Cruz.

Professional Learning
Support for Schools
 Curriculum Guide – 8th and 11th, LGBT
History (see hand out)
 Curriculum, Comprehensive and
Inclusive Sex Ed, Cardea Organization
 Strategic Implementation of safe and
inclusive school practices
(administrators, teachers, students, health
and mental health professionals)

CSUMB Course – Summer Online
“Teaching LGBT History in Schools”

Further Reading / Contact
 Curriculum as a Mirror and a Window.
 GLAAD
 GLSEN
 Rob@Onlinelearningvisions.com
 Rob’s Wiki:

FAIR Act and Supporting LGBT Youth

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