SB 48 requires recognition of controversial groups: The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act (The FAIR Education Act, SB 48, 2011) requires social science instruction regarding the contributions of various groups in the history of California and the United States by adding “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other ... cultural groups” to the categories of required instruction.
SB 48 explicitly gives broad discretion to school boards and teachers in adopting curriculum consistent with the goals of the law. Each local school district and teacher has the authority to decide how SB 48 is implemented in the classroom in compliance with the law, including how and when (at what grade level) topics are discussed.
The History Social Studies Framework, and some textbooks far exceed SB 48: Students are a captive audience and are highly impressionable. This framework and some suggested textbooks do not merely acknowledge the historical contributions of LGBT individuals and groups, but instead seek to redefine marriage, family, and gender in radical and controversial ways. For example, some activists seek to “eliminate the gender binary” (i.e. the biological categories of male and female). It can be introduced as early as kindergarten and some activists want to implement as early as kindergarten, but it would over-sexualize young children by discussing sex and gender and by promoting transgenderism.
Parental rights are undermined by this Framework: The U.S. Supreme Court acknowledges that parents have the primary responsibility to raise their children, not the state. In California, parents have a legal right to opt their children out of sex education, but SB 48’s requirements fall outside that area, leaving parents unaware and students unprotected. The U.S. Supreme Court has determined that the government may not compel individuals to express ideas or thoughts with which they disagree. Its approach (and some of the textbooks) seeks to coerce teachers and students to accept and express ideas about gender and gender identity that may violate the individual beliefs of teachers and students. Specifically, those who subscribe to the gender binary which is rooted in objective biology would be affected. It is hostile towards religion: It indoctrinates students by repeatedly describing various religious groups, including the Puritans, as “intolerant,” implying that these religious groups and people who identify with their worldview were or are bigoted or hateful toward women and LGBT persons.
(Paraphrased excerpt from concernedwomen.org The Truth About SB48)
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