National Public Radio (NPR)’s Maureen Foertsch McKinney spoke with Springfield native Grayson Alexander, State Senator Heather Steans, eighth-grade social studies teacher Amy Biancheri, PHIMC’s Policy and Advocacy Manager for Illinois Safe Schools Alliance Grecia Magdaleno, Carbondale mom Carrie Vine, and The Legacy Project’s Victor Salvo about why Illinois’ Inclusive Curriculum Law is vital to our students.

Grecia says the incorporation of the discussion of gender nonconformity for students as young as kindergarten should not be controversial.

“It can be as simple as introducing students to examples of diverse families. There are stories … that show depictions of same sex parents, or transgender young people. So even though you don’t necessarily have to go into the specifics of it, you can still provide representation without sexualizing it in any way, rather, just showing that there are LGBTQ people that exist. And that’s all it really matters.”

Listen to the interview, aired on NPR Illinois on October 22, 2020, or read a transcript here:

New Curriculum Brings LGBTQ History Into The Light

Learn more here about the Illinois Inclusive Curriculum Advisory Council (IICAC)’s new tools to support implementation of the law. Tools include professional development opportunities, a guidance document, and a classroom lesson plan search portal. The IICAC is composed of the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago’s Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, The Legacy Project, and Equality Illinois.