“The teaching of history has been too straight. A new Illinois law says it’s time to tell the whole story,” reads the subtitle on a recent Illinois Times article by David Blanchette.
We could not agree more.
Mr. Blanchette interviews multiple stakeholders on the impact of this new law, including the bill’s cosponsor Sen. Heather Steans, Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) spokesperson Jackie Matthews, Equality Illinois director of public policy Mike Ziri, Riverton Community Unit School District 14 Superintendent Brad Polanin, School District 186 spokesperson Bree Hankins, and PHIMC’s Grecia Magdaleno, Policy and Advocacy Manager for Illinois Safe Schools Alliance. Following is an excerpt from the article, Teaching LGBT history:
“‘ISBE will work with partners over the course of the 2019-20 school year to ensure that curricular and content resources are available and that public schools and districts have an opportunity to review and search curricula that best meets their needs,’ Matthews said. ‘ISBE’s collaboration with stakeholders is still early in the process, and these discussions will take place throughout the 2019-20 school year.’
“Meanwhile, several organizations that supported the LGBT history law are working with local school districts and teachers to provide suggestions on its implementation. The Illinois Safe Schools Alliance is developing resource materials for educators and administrators.
“‘These guides will provide school-based staff with how-to’s that align with state standards and can be integrated into existing curriculum,’ said the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance’s Grecia Magdaleno. ‘It is our hope that these findings will give Illinois schools the foundation to integrate LGBT-inclusive curricula with fidelity and a sense of confidence.’
“The Alliance offers professional development programs across the state that are listed at www.ilsafeschools.org, and they are actively surveying educators to see what is needed at the local district level to incorporate LGBT history into the curriculum.
“‘We are able to collect feedback from districts on the concerns, needs and opportunities around implementation and are actively exploring more ways to do this,’ Magdaleno said. ‘We are, for example, developing a feedback form that will be attached to upcoming promotional materials and are convening a subcommittee focused on compiling content and resources for educators.’
. . .
“Illinois is the fourth state to pass a law dealing with LGBT history in the classroom.”
To view or read the full article, click here.
PHIMC’s Illinois Safe Schools Alliance is proud to be working with Equality Illinois, The Legacy Project, and Illinois State Board of Education to provide tools and resources that will support educators as they prepare for the law’s implementation on July 1, 2020.
To learn more about our Illinois Safe Schools Alliance work to support LGBTQ students through school policy, youth action, and professional development for school staff, click here.
