School in the same-sex era

Now that same-sex marriage is legal in Hawaii, schools should update their curriculums to reflect that fact, and include more positive depictions of same-sex couples and their children, the contributions of gays and lesbians to society, the history of the gay-rights movement and other topics important to the LGBT community that have been neglected in the past, advocates say.

"One of the things we would expect in terms of an immediate impact on schools is that any curriculum talking about family or family life, relationships, marriage, obviously that curriculum needs to be revised to reflect the law and the recognition of same-sex couples. Teachers in the classroom need to update their definitions, if their definitions are not inclusive," said Robert McGarry, senior director of education and youth programs for GLSEN, the national Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

The New York-based group, which has a chapter in Hawaii, focuses on ensuring safe schools for all students.

"Indeed, positive representations of LGBT families occur in states that do not have marriage equality and I’m sure they already occur often in Hawaii, but certainly now they absolutely should," McGarry said. "Clearly the law is a good leverage point if there is something that needs to be changed."

He said it’s important to provide an inclusive curriculum in all subject areas, at all grade levels.

"It’s about recognizing bias in educational materials K-12. When marriage is mentioned or families are mentioned, in any subject area, are we only seeing references to heterosexual families? This means really looking through the literature that children are exposed to and reading from very early on, preschool and up, and making sure that they are seeing positive and inclusive definitions of what it means to be a family."

Informed of McGarry’s suggestions on Thursday, Hawaii Department of Education spokesman Alex Da Silva reiterated that the department has no plans to review or revise its curriculum. "My understanding is that there is nothing in the law that requires us to change our textbooks. There is nothing in the law that tells the DOE to do anything or to undertake a review of its curriculum and that is not being done."

Board of Education Chairman Don Horner had expressed a similar view when the bill cleared the Legislature last week, saying, "The board has no pending educational policy changes as a result of the new law. As the superintendent (Kathryn Matayoshi) has stated, our mission is to create a safe and nurturing environment for all students to equip them to be critical thinkers and lifelong learners. Our primary objective is to prepare students for college, career and to be contributors to the community — not focus on teaching any specific lifestyle."

Some opponents of same-sex marriage who testified before the Senate or House during the special legislative session fought the marriage equality bill on the grounds that it would lead to more gay-friendly curriculum in Hawaii’s schools. They insisted that parents — not the government — should guide their children’s views on what they consider religious, moral and lifestyle issues.

Department of Education officials responded at the time that they did not expect the marriage equality law to affect schools, given that no language in the bill mandated schools to take any action, or even referred to education. They also noted that public schools have for years promoted diversity programs that foster acceptance of all types of people. The DOE has had an anti-discrimination policy in place since 2008 that expressly forbids harassment or bullying of students based on sexual orientation.

They also pointed out that another long-standing policy requires teachers to take care discussing controversial issues. Board of Education Policy No. 2210 requires teachers to discuss potentially controversial lessons or activities with their principals in advance to determine whether parents should be alerted and given the option of opting their child out of the lesson or activity.

A Gallup surveyed last year found that 5.1 percent of Hawaii’s adult population identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, the highest percentage of any state (the District of Columbia was first, at 10 percent, while the U.S. average was 3.5 percent). The Williams Institute, a think tank affiliated with the University of California-Los Angeles law school, puts Hawaii’s population at 53,900 adult LGBT individuals, including 3,239 same-sex couples, of which 16 percent are raising children. Some 3,000 children in Hawaii, including 1,100 grandchildren, are being raised by same-sex couples, according to the institute, which focuses on law and public policy related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Given that heterosexual couples and families are the vast majority, there’s no chance of traditional marriage being overshadowed if schools adopted a more inclusive approach, McGarry said.

"LGBT students need to see themselves in the curriculum," he said. "It’s the right thing to do, even if a law doesn’t make you do it."

Ilan H. Meyer, senior scholar for public policy at the Williams Institute, agrees that Hawaii’s marriage equality law won’t immediately affect schools, but he sees positive effects down the road and urged educational leaders to acknowledge the potential.

"Clearly the law itself doesn’t change anything in terms of what is required of educators or schools, but as with any advancement of civil rights that chips away at the stigma of being gay, or of being in a same-sex relationship, the law should broaden the discussion and acceptance in other areas of society, including schools," Meyer said.

Discounting or downplaying that likelihood, especially in the face of opposition to marriage equality, risks perpetuating the very stigma the law aims to erase, he said. Deeming the marriage equality debate a controversial issue, for example, may have precluded truly meaningful discussions in classrooms as history was unfolding at the state Capitol.

"Increasing diversity in education is a positive thing, for everyone, and Ido expect that over time that will happen in Hawaii," he said. "In the short term, the opposite is more likely. There is a bit of a backlash closing in, and schools and workplaces and every place needs to be on the lookout for that."

GLSEN offers a curricular toolkit for K-5 educators called "Ready, Set, Respect!" that provides lesson plans aimed at preventing name-calling, bullying and bias, and promoting LGBT-inclusive family diversity and gender roles. The group released a study last year that found that 72 percent of the elementary school students surveyed in the U.S. had been taught that there are many different types of families, but only 18 percent had learned about families with gay or lesbian parents.

In addition to depictions of family life, McGarry said, schools should ensure that works by gay and lesbian authors and books illuminating LGBTissues are included on reading lists and that "the full contributions of LGBTpeople in all walks of life" are reflected in age-appropriate classroom discussions and lesson plans.

"It’s about infusing the curriculum with other people’s stories, not just one point of view, in English, history, social studies, everything," he said.

There is a movement in other states to include positive portrayals of LGBT people and issues in public school curricula, but so far only California has mandated it. The California law, which took effect last year, adds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to a list of groups underrepresented in educational material, and requires that their political, economic, and social contributions be included in social studies curricula; adverse depictions are not allowed.

Like many educators, Sharon Mahoe, a former teacher, administrator and union leader in Hawaii’s public schools who retired in 2009, spoke up in favor of the marriage equality bill. The Hawaii State Teachers Association was among the organizations that endorsed it.

Any proposals to update educational policies would have to be driven by school communities, she said, and would follow the usual vetting processes through the department and the Board of Education, with widespread public input. "DOE policies reflect the communities’ needs and interests," she said. Even under existing policies, she’s sure that teachers will find ways to talk to kids about whatever they need to talk about, and to reach out to LGBT youth and religious students who may be on opposite sides of the marriage equality issue.

"Finding a way to talk to kids about difficult issues is really important," she said. "If a teacher ignores it, sometimes that causes more harm, because it’s almost like you are giving permission for kids to be mean to each other."

Although retired, it was tough to hear critics assert that public schools would promote a particular lifestyle, a scenario she finds highly unlikely.

"Will schools be promoting the idea of treating people fairly? Yes, definitely. That’s one of the things teachers care most deeply about. They want kids to treat each other properly."