New Jersey Will Now Require LGBTQ History to Be Taught in Schools

New Jersey just made a big step towards promoting LGBTQ inclusion in schools.

Last Thursday, Governor Phil Murphy signed a measure that would require all public schools to teach LGBTQ history, making New Jersey only the second state in the U.S. to implement such a requirement, after California in 2017.

The law will require schools to include lessons about the political, economic, and social contributions of the LGBT community, as well as those of people with disabilities.

“The Governor believes that ensuring students learn about diverse histories will help build more tolerant communities and strengthen educational outcomes,” said a statement given by Murphy’s office.

Teachers and textbook makers have some time before updating their lessons — the law won’t require the inclusion until the 2020-2021 school year.

Proponents of the law say that this actually won’t be a big change.

“Young people are learning about LGBT people already in schools but their identities are hidden,” said the executive director of Garden State Equality, Christian Fuscarino.

The legislation comes not too long after news broke that Vice President Mike Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, was working at a private school that forced students and staff to sign a “morality clause” essentially prohibiting them from being gay, or supporting gay people in their personal lives or in general. The outrage prompted a hashtag, #ExposeChristianSchools, still circulating on Twitter with stories of how Christian schools failed the now-adult students who attended them, whether through personal affronts such as Pence’s school or educational such as refusing to teach real science.

Unfortunately, the requirement to teach LGBTQ history in New Jersey will not apply to private schools.