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New Illinois Bill Requiring Schools to Teach LGBTQ History Sparks Backlash

On Friday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation which mandates the state’s public schools begin teaching “LGBTQ history” as part of the required lesson plan.

The new bill forces the Illinois Board of Education to “annually publish a list of textbooks authorized to be purchased,” in an apparent effort to ensure that learning materials include the LGBT agenda.

According to the bill, “the teaching of history shall include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this state.”

The bill makes clear that “No pupils shall be graduated from the eighth grade of any public school, unless he or she has received such instruction in the history of the United States, and gives evidence of having a comprehensive knowledge thereof.”

The new bill clearly states that learning material “authorized to be purchased must include the roles and contributions of all people protected under the Illinois Human Rights Act, and must be non-discriminatory as to any of the characteristics under the Act.”

Language included in the legislation states that school districts will “receive a per-pupil grant for the purchase of secular and non-discriminatory textbooks,” highly implying sweeping changes to the existing curriculum.

Democrat Senator Heather Steans, one of the bill’s sponsors, said “An inclusive curriculum will not only teach an accurate version of history, but also promote acceptance of the LGBTQ community.”

The new law makes Illinois the fourth state to implement such mandates on the public school system, including Colorado, California, and New Jersey, which also now require the curriculum to include LGBTQ ideology.

Now, the Inclusive Curriculum Bill, also known as House Bill 246, is set to go into effect in July of 2020, and has predictably lead to an outpour of bipartisan responses.

While dozens of left-leaning activist groups and individuals praised the signing of the bill, others were not so sure, and took to social media to share their thoughts.

Many moderate liberals and conservatives overwhelmingly stated that, while ensuring LGBTQ students do not feel alienated or discriminated is certainly important, the bill feels more like a means to further push the agenda on young minds.

Specifically, the growing demand from the left to deliver LGBTQ ideology to elementary and middle school children has continued to raise eyebrows, and commenters largely expressed their beliefs that the sexually-charged material is inappropriate for the age group.

Others raised the issue of Christianity being barred from public schools, and contrasted the LGBTQ agenda’s recent mandated inclusion into the curriculum as a direct affront to their religious beliefs.

The issue has encapsulated Americans from all backgrounds, races, religions, genders, and age groups, and continues to remain a controversial topic, especially as the 2020 election draws ever nearer.

As the debate over LGBTQ representation in the public school curriculum continues, opponents of Illinois’ new bill have repeatedly condemned the legislation for what they deem to be a forced inclusion of the agenda, and allege direct targeting of children.

Those in favor of the bill say it will help homosexual students to not feel alienated or ostracized, and hope the passage of the new legislation will lead to a drop in incidents of bullying.

However well-intentioned proponents of the Inclusive Curriculum Bill are, opponents of the bill have raised a valid point regarding the teaching of sexually-charged material in elementary and middle school.

WATCH:

This article was written by the staff of TheConservativeOpinion.com 

By CK Heltzel

Source: theconservativeopinion

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