ShareThisA controversial state law approved last July amid heated debate isn't likely to affect California classrooms any time soon.
The Fair Education Act adds lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, as well as people with disabilities, to existing state law that requires that the contributions of women and minorities be taught in California social science classes. It also prohibits materials that reflect adversely on people because of race, gender or other characteristics.
The law officially took effect Jan. 1. But the California Department of Education hasn't laid out a companion curriculum, and state officials say they're leaving it up to school districts to determine how to comply.
While some districts are working to design new curriculum, many others are simply waiting for the state's next adoption of new history and social science textbooks, scheduled for 2015. School officials say they have few resources - financial and otherwise - to do much else.
"Right now we don't have any funding to do the curriculum we need," said Christopher Hoffman, superintendent of the El Dorado Union High School District just east of Sacramento. "We aren't going to add anything."
Even the state is waiting for new books. Its Department of Education has no plans to check districts for compliance until new textbooks are available, said Tom Adams, director of curriculum frameworks.
New textbooks won't be available for years. Citing the ongoing budget crisis, the Legislature halted the adoption of new textbooks until 2015 and suspended a rule that districts must buy those new books within two years of their adoption.
Mark Leno, a Democratic state senator from San Francisco who authored the legislation, said school districts meanwhile should use supplemental materials to meet the requirement. "School districts are required to put it into the lesson plans with or without the textbook changes," he said.
But state guidance is scarce. The Department of Education directs anyone with questions to a fact sheet on its website that answers seven "frequently asked" questions about the law. It says teachers, schools and districts must decide what content is covered and at what grade levels.
(Contact Diana Lambert at dlambert(at)sacbee.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)
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