After years of delays in its development, a training course on LGBTQ issues for California teachers is set to begin this summer. The one-hour cultural competency sessions will be required for all teachers and all other certificated employees serving pupils in grades seven to twelve over the next five academic years beginning with the 2025-26 school year.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond had authored a bill in 2018 when he served in the Assembly calling for the creation of such a training course. But it fell to the veto pen of then-governor Jerry Brown due to its cost.
After being elected to his statewide position, Thurmond worked with gay Democratic former Assemblymember Todd Gloria, now the mayor of San Diego, in 2019 to pass Assembly Bill 493, also known as the Safe and Supportive Schools Act, in support of the training for educators. While Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law, it wasn't until 2021 that he allocated $2.4 million to build out the online LGBTQ-focused course.
To address the fact that AB 493 didn't include a mandate that teachers take the training, gay Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) pushed through his AB 5 two years ago to create one. It was amended from the original requirement of educators taking a four-hour course every three years on LGBTQ cultural competency to a one-hour annual class with a sunset at the completion of the 2029-30 school year.
Meanwhile, the California Department of Education contracted with the Los Angeles County Office of Education to develop the training course. It has been dubbed PRISM, the Providing Relevant, Inclusive Support That Matters for LGBTQ+ Students program.
It initially was to debut during Pride Month last June. But issues in finalizing the necessary contracts for the development of PRISM led the state agency to be granted an extension until this June 30, as the Bay Area Reporter had reported in May 2023.
According to the state education office, PRISM consists of a six-course online training. The content has been tailored to provide certificated educators with resources that bolster support for the Golden State's LGBTQ+ youth.
As a spokesperson for Thurmond, who is running for governor in 2026, told the B.A.R. in December, "PRISM aims to support LGBTQ+ students facing bullying, harassment, discrimination, or lack of acceptance at home or school. PRISM courses will be available for free, and hosted in a learning management system beginning July 2025."
LGBTQ advocates have long argued that when school staff are supportive of LGBTQ+ students, it results in the youth having "significantly lower rates of depression and suicidality," as Equality California noted in its 2024 Safe and Supportive Schools Report Card. Of the 146 of the state's 343 unified school districts that responded to EQCA's questionnaire, 67 of the districts with K-12 schools (46%) noted they already require their staff to take at least one hour of LGBTQ+ specific training every 24 months.
"The presence of supportive staff and LGBTQ+ affirming policies is associated with better academic performance and overall well-being. This underscores the need for schools to adopt and effectively implement protective laws and policies to ensure all students learn and thrive in safe and inclusive environments," noted EQCA in the report it released last fall on the findings of the biennial survey of California's unified school districts.
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