Introduction
In 2010, the California legislature passed the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act. Known informally as the FAIR Education Act, the LGBT History Bill, or simply as SB 48, the law made multiple changes to the state Education Code. While usually identified as the law that incorporated LGBT history into state curricula and classroom instruction, the law also mandated inclusion of Americans with disabilities and other cultural groups in history instruction across California.
The main crux of the law was the new language added to Education Code Section 51204.5, which reads as follows (emboldened text indicates added content):
“…a study of the role and contributions of both men and women, Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other ethnic and cultural groups, to the economic, political, and social development of California and the United States of America, with particular emphasis on portraying the role of these groups in contemporary society.”
The new state History-Social Studies Framework reflects these changes to the Education Code.
This document has been developed to provide teachers with resources to incorporate perspectives on both the history of LGBT Americans and Americans with disabilities.
Disability History
- List of Historical Figures with Disabilities (Anti-Defamation League)
- Disability Social History Project
http://www.disabilityhistory.org/index.html
Website of community history project with a range of information and resources on disability history, including links to books and articles, short biographies of leading historical figures with disabilities, and an historical timeline.
Biographical Sketches
http://www.disabilityhistory.org/people.html
Disability History Timeline
http://www.disabilityhistory.org/timeline_new.html
- Museum of disABILITY History
http://museumofdisability.org/
An extension of the Museum of disABILITY History in Buffalo, New York, this website provides numerous resources, including lesson plans and annotated bibliographies. All of these resources can be accessed by way of the “Educational Resources” button on the home page, or via the URLs/links below.
Annotated Bibliography
http://museumofdisability.org/educational-resources/annotated-bibliography/
Student Bibliographies
http://museumofdisability.org/educational-resources/student-bibliographies/
Lesson Plans, Grades 4-8 (28 total lessons)
http://museumofdisability.org/educational-resources/4-8-lesson-plans/
Lesson Plans, Grades 9-12 (16 total lessons)
http://museumofdisability.org/educational-resources/9-12-lesson-plans/
- Teaching Tolerance
A program headed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, this website contains information and resources on a wide array of issues related to social inclusion. The website includes a database that provides access to dozens of lesson plans. The lessons can be accessed easily by way of a search engine that provides for searches by keyword, topic, subject, and grade level. Some sample lessons are included below.
Lesson on Americans with Disabilities Act (all grade levels)
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/civil-rights-and-americans-disabilities
Lesson on Understanding Disabilities (all grade levels)
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/understanding-disabilities
Lesson on Learning Disabilities (all grade levels)
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/fighting-prejudice-and-discrimination-against-people-learnin
- UC Irvine History Project
Model Lesson on Disability History (11th grade)
https://historyproject.uci.edu/11thgraderesources/
Model Lesson on Disability History (12th grade)
https://historyproject.uci.edu/12thgraderesources/
LGBT History
- Primers and Timelines on LGBT History and Civil Rights
American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.aspx
Civil Rights.org
http://archives.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/
ONE Archives at USC Libraries
1950-1970s
http://www.onearchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/timeline-pg-1-FINAL.jpg
1980s-Present
http://www.onearchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Timeline-page-2-e1435779001815.jpg
PBS, American Experience
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/search/?q=stonewall
University of Kentucky Course Timeline
http://www.uky.edu/~lbarr2/gws250spring11_files/Page1186.htm
- Calisphere
An online archive of more than 400,000 primary sources related to California history, Calisphere has multiple collections where teachers can access primary sources on LGBT history. Photographs and other primary sources can be retrieved from the following collections, including the Los Angeles Public Library; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society; Lamda Archives of San Diego; and Oakland Museum of California.
- Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Developing LGBT-Inclusive Classroom Resources
https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/LGBT%20inclus%20curriculum%202014_0.pdf
When Did It Happen: An LGBT History Lesson
https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/When%20Did%20it%20Happen%20Lesson%20Plan_0.pdf
- Gay-Straight Alliance
FAIR Education Act: LGBTQ-Inclusive Lessons and Activities
https://gsanetwork.org/files/resources/National%20LGBTQ-inclusive%20lessons%20%26%20activities.pdf
- New York Times
Part of the New York Times’s The Learning Network, and recently updated to include information on Obergefell v. Hodges (the Supreme Court decision protecting same-sex marriage), this webpage offers a variety of resources regarding LGBT history. The page, and its content, is arranged according to the following categories: General L.G.B.T. Issues and History; L.G.B.T. Teenagers, Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships; Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Each of the above sections include links to lesson plans, additional classroom materials, and relevant Times articles. Towards the bottom of the page, there are also several links to additional online resources.
The Gay ‘80s, ‘90s, and ‘00s (11th grade lesson)
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/the-gay-80s-90s-and-00s/
The Culture Wars (11th grade lesson)
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/the-culture-wars/
- ONE Archives Foundation
http://www.onearchives.org/education-2/education/resources/
The independent community-partner of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries (the largest archive of LGBT objects anywhere in the world), the ONE Archive Foundation website provides links to a variety of websites as well as historical speeches. Also see the link to the organization’s timelines of LGBT history above.
- PBS, “The Stonewall Uprising” (2011)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/
A recent installment in the ongoing series, American Experience, this hour-long documentary examines the history of the foundational event in the Gay Rights Movement. For additional resources, see the PBS website (second link above).
- People with a History: An Outline Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans* History
http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/pwh/
An online database hosted by Fordham University, “People with a History” provides links to primary and secondary sources on LGBT history all across the globe and from the ancient to contemporary world.
- Teaching Tolerance
A program headed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, this website contains information and resources on a wide array of issues related to social inclusion. The website includes a database that provides access to dozens of lesson plans. The lessons can be accessed easily by way of a search engine that provides for searches by keyword, topic, subject, and grade level. Some sample lessons are included below.
The Role of Gay Men and Lesbians in the Civil Rights Movement (11th and 12th grades)
http://www.tolerance.org/LGBT-CRM
Marriage Equality: Different Strategies for Attaining Equal Rights
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/marriage-equality-different-strategies-attaining-equal-right
Editorial Cartoons: Gay Rights
http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/editorial-cartoons-gay-rights
- UC Berkeley History Project
Remembering Charley Parkhurst: New Opportunities in Gold Rush California (4th grade lesson easily adapted into 8th grade lesson)
The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement (11th grade lesson)
http://ucbhssp.berkeley.edu/content/legacy-civil-rights-movement
- UC Irvine History Project
Latino and Gay Civil Rights Movements (11th grade lesson)
https://historyproject.uci.edu/11thgraderesources/
- History UnErased
https://unerased.org/products/8-12/
An educational organization devoted to LGBT issues, History UnErased publishes high-quality lesson plans for teachers across all grade levels. The lessons, however, are not free and must be purchased.
- Unheard Voices: Stories of LGBT History
https://www.adl.org/education/educator-resources/lesson-plans/unheard-voices-stories-of-lgbt-history
An online archive hosted by the Anti-Defamation League, this website provides links to oral histories related to different eras and issues in LGBT history.