Washington, DC Including LGBTQ History in Social Studies Curriculum Update

Washington, D.C. has updated their social studies requirements to include LGBTQ history. The DC State Board of Education has unanimously approved a new social studies standard for public and charter schools, which are to be “anti-racist,” promote civic engagement, improve literacy, and purposefully include systematically impacted groups such as LGBTQ folks.

D.C.’s standards have not been updated since 2006, and the new standards will go into effect starting in 2024. The lack of updates since 2006 shocked State Board member Jessica Sutter, who taught social studies when the standards were first adopted.

“The majority of schoolchildren in Washington D.C. are Black,” Sutter told DCist. “The nation’s capital, home to President Barack Obama… the social studies standards did not include the existence of him as president. That seemed to me deeply problematic on a bunch of levels, but specifically because the children in the city had a president who looked like them.”

Sutter also said the updates aim to ensure that “every child in the city has a chance to see themselves as part of the story of history, and not just history as something that happened to other people.”

The far-right has unfortunately been infiltrating school boards in an effort to rewrite America’s history surrounding racism, including no longer teaching about Martin Luther King in some states, or about terrorist groups such as the KKK. Their efforts have also including banning books and erasing discussions about LGBTQ folks in general.

The new standards will require teachers to include  LGBTQ history into the curriculum. Students will learn about important historical moments in LGBTQ history including The Stonewall Riots and Obergefell v Hodges.

Eric Goulet, who is the Ward 3 Represnetative in D.C., shares that, “We’re right now putting forward something that makes the statement that we want our students here in D.C. to be informed, to be critical thinkers, to be good citizens.”

Brandon Best, D.C.’s Ward 6 Representative, agrees, saying he is “proud” of the update because “by acknowledging our past, we can actively work towards building a better future.”