What Schools Still Must Do
Most schools still have a long way to go to fully integrate the children of lesbian and gay parents. For example, two of the most important steps still to be taken:
Lesbian and Gay Issues in the Curriculum
In Massachusetts, the Board of Education's 1993 recommendations deliberately excluded any mention of adding gay and lesbian issues to the curriculum or making gay-related resources available in the library. The advisory commission had recommended both changes. But then Governor William Weld did not want to be seen as "promoting homosexuality," according to Lipkin.
Unfortunately, that common old misunderstanding "talking about homosexuality can make someone gay or lesbian" has kept many schools from making this needed reform. Yet there is no scientific evidence for this assumption; and even if there were, it hardly appears to lend reason to excluding a historically, politically and culturally significant group from school studies.
Consistent Standards
In Massachusetts, some districts have failed to match the progress of their peer communities. Consequently, Lipkin has argued that the state must be given more power to enforce the recommendations.
Nationwide, there is even greater variation in school practices around this issue, which often leaves a child's experience up to chance, depending upon where he or she happens to live. This, too, must change if our nation's schools are to welcome every student.
