GSE: New LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum Resources Available for NJ Educators

Today, Garden State Equality and Make it Better for Youth unveiled a robust set of free LGBTQ-Inclusive Lessons & Resources for educators and school administrators in advance of the 2020-2021 school year.

In January 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a law requiring Boards of Education to include instruction that accurately portrays the political, economic, and social contributions of LGBTQ people and people with disabilities. New Jersey is the first state to mandate LGBTQ-inclusive materials across all subject areas.

The law takes effect at the beginning of the 2020 – 2021 school year. Now, teachers across the state and across all content areas can visit teach.lgbt to access sample lesson plans, resources about approaching inclusion in education, and other materials like fact sheets and FAQs about LGBTQ topics.

“Creating educational environments that are affirming and inclusive of LGBTQ people is essential to creating a safe school climate for all students. Young people need to see themselves reflected in their lessons and the stories we share, ” said Ashley Chiappano, Garden State Equality’s Safe Schools and Community Education Manager.

“Accurate, challenging and inclusive education is an educational obligation,” said Kate Okeson, Program Director of Make It Better for Youth. “This project – these lessons – are about two things: increasing positive outcomes for all students by developing materials that uncover and celebrate histories and identities that had been systematically erased, misrepresented, and devalued, and second, that we cannot wait for these materials to be created for us. It was our duty to make them ourselves.”

Beginning in early 2019, Make it Better for Youth and Garden State Equality partnered to create lessons and resources first for use in a pilot program and study looking at efficacy, readiness, gaps, and outcomes, and not minimally, to provide high quality lessons that sought to provide models of best practices.

“Input from current educators and educational leaders in the state of New Jersey have been utilized throughout the development of the lessons, sharing of best practices, and outcomes of the study.  These valuable perspectives will be utilized to assist current educators and educational leaders in offering lessons that are accurate and inclusive of the political, economic, and social contributions of LGBTQ individuals.  The application of LGBTQ-inclusive lessons will assist public schools in the state of New Jersey in providing safe and affirming school environments for all students and educators.  All students, educators, and families deserve to see themselves reflected in school environments.“ said Dr. Lori Burns, Principal, Adjunct Professor for Monmouth University, and LGBTQ Inclusive Lessons and Resources Pilot Program Manager.

The LGBTQ Inclusive Lessons and Resources Pilot Program consisted of a 6 month intensive collaboration with 12 public schools in the state of New Jersey.  The study utilized a quantitative and qualitative approach to determine best practices regarding LGBTQ inclusive lesson development, instruction, materials, and supports.    The findings of the study will serve as a roadmap for educators and administrators in providing an inclusive, safe and affirming school environment for all students and educators in the state of New Jersey.  The findings of the study will be released in August 2020.

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Garden State Equality is New Jersey’s statewide advocacy and education organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

Make It Better for Youth is a non-profit that provides educational training, resources and ideas to make it better for LGBTQ youth.