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City: Sacramento, CA Date: 07/21/2011 A controversial new law, SB 48, that mandates an emphasis on “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender” role models in K-12 history and social science curriculum, has been temporarily put on hold. After SB 48 was signed into law last week by Gov. Jerry Brown, Pacific Justice Institute worked quickly behind the scenes, with several other pro-family organizations to launch the referendum. Papers have been filed with the California Attorney General’s Office. That office is tasked with preparing an official title and summary for the measure, which would allow voters the chance to directly repeal SB...

Rarely do we get a juxtaposition of stories like we see today about California’s political class. The legislature returned from the Independence Day holiday to address the pressing, acute issue that has the state in crisis mode — the lack of mention in schools of accomplishments by gays and lesbians: A bill to require California public schools to teach the historical accomplishments of gay men and lesbians passed the state Legislature on Tuesday in what supporters call a first for the nation.Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, has not said publicly whether he supports the bill, which he has 12 days...

California lawmakers on Tuesday sent the governor a bill that would make the state the first requiring public schools to include the contributions of gays and lesbians in social studies curriculum. The bill, passed on a party-line vote, adds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as well as people with disabilities to the list of groups that schools must include in the lessons. It also would prohibit material that reflects adversely on gays. Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco says SB48 is crucial because of the bullying that happens to gay students. Republicans called it a well-intentioned but ill-conceived...

The California Senate passed a bill that would require all state public schools to teach the history of the gay civil rights movement and the contributions of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The bill passed the Democratic-majority Senate by a 23-14 vote, along party lines. Mario Guerrero, government affairs director at Equality California, an LGBT lobbying organization, said his organization expect the bill to move to the state Assembly sometime in June, where it will likely pass. Democrats outnumber Republicans in the Assembly, 52-27. A similar measure in 2006 was passed by the legislature, but vetoed...

'Gay Month' At Schools Irks Some Parents POSTED: 4:03 pm EDT September 26, 2006 The Philadelphia School District has designated October as Lesbian And Gay History Month, which has some parents upset. Parents became aware of the designation when the district sent out more than 200,000 calendars. The calendars also listed September as Hispanic Heritage Month, February as African-American History Month as Philadelphia School District and May as Asian Pacific-American Month. The district told NBC 10 that were no scheduled events or activities planned to mark the ocaasion. But some parents were upset after receiving the calendars. "Gay and Lesbian...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Saying that more role models could help alleviate the social estrangement and high suicide rates of gay and lesbian students, the California Senate voted Thursday to teach the historical contributions of homosexuals in the United States. If approved by the state Assembly and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the measure, the first of its kind nationwide, could once again stake out California in the vanguard on gay rights. California is a huge portion of the textbook market, where it often sets trends, and many publishers put out a specific edition for the state that others can also use. ...Social...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BP)--A bill that would require California public school textbooks to include "gay history" is making its way through the state legislature, and experts warn it could have an impact nationwide. The bill, SB 1437, passed a state Senate committee April 4 by a vote of 3-1 and is expected to be debated in the full body in the coming days. It would require textbooks to include "the contributions of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender to the total development of California and the United States." The bill also changes state law to prohibit teachers from saying...