Washington’s Democrat governor signs law mandating LGBT history lessons in public schools

OLYMPIA, Washington (LifeSiteNews) — Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a law on March 18 mandating that, by 2025, the state’s public schools “adopt inclusive curricula and select diverse, equitable, inclusive, age-appropriate instructional materials” that teach about “the histories, contributions, and perspectives” of “LGBTQ people.”

“Your kids will be forced to learn about Dylan Mulvaney and drag queens,” Libs of TikTok reacted on X (formerly Twitter). “Homeschool your kids.”

The new law, Senate Bill 5462, also mandates that public school curricula be screened for “biased content” as it’s reviewed. The superintendent must “[i]nclude a screening for biased content in each development or revision of a state learning standard and ensure that the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as those terms are defined in RCW 28A.415.443, are incorporated into each new or revised state learning standard.”

“Persons and organizations with relevant expertise” will be consulted as part of the “biased content” review and inclusion of DEI concepts, the law says.

DEI has become prominent in American public discourse in recent years.

“The best way to conceptualize DEI is as the marriage of ideology and bureaucracy, or, more specifically, as the marriage between critical race theory and affirmative action,” Christopher Rufo has summarized.

Illinois, California, New Jersey, Oregon, and Colorado already mandate the teaching of pro-LGBT curricula in public schools. Meanwhile, some red states such as Wyoming and Florida have moved to restrict left-wing indoctrination in government-run schools. Florida was famously smeared by the leftist media over its 2022 parental rights in education law, misleadingly dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” which prohibits teaching children in kindergarten through third grade about transgenderism and other sexuality-related issues, limits discussions of sexuality for older children to “age appropriate” content, and requires parents to be informed of any changes that could affect their child’s physical, emotional, or mental well-being.

Sen. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds), who introduced SB 5462, suggested in a press release that students learning about LGBT figures will improve academic performance and create for them a “better overall quality of life.”

“The contributions of gay Washingtonians deserve recognition, and just as importantly, students deserve to see themselves in their schoolwork. That leads to better attendance, better academic achievement and better overall quality of life, ensuring success for all our students,” he said. “I’m so pleased to see this critical bill make it across the finish line and signed into law.” 

No Republicans in either chamber of the Washington legislature supported the bill, The Olympian reported.