Illinois Joins Colorado To Mandate LGBT History For K-12 Students

Colorado is one of four states to make LGBT history required curriculum in K-12 public schools. Now, Illinois has joined Colorado, California and New Jersey to mandate the study of contributions made by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

The Illinois law requires that textbooks bought with state funding must cover "the roles and contributions" of LGBT people and must not include any content that is discriminatory to any gender or sexual orientation.

A 2016 research study from GLSEN showed that just under a quarter of students (nationally) say they've learned about LGBT people, topics, or history in their public school classes.