The Printise J. Womack Lecture endowment, the Henry Madden Library, and the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature are co-sponsors of a panel discussion May 1 at Fresno State on the FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, Respectful) Education Act.
The event, which is free and open to the community, will be held 7-9 p.m. in the library, Room 2206.
The FAIR Education Act, signed into law in 2011, requires California schools to integrate information about social movements, current events and contributions of people with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people into the K-12 social studies curriculum.
Current curriculum addresses these issues for people of color, women and other diverse and previously underrepresented groups.
The panelists, who will discuss the law’s impact, curriculum development and implementation, are:
- Dr. Lee Wind, an author, speaker and official blogger for the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators who runs an award-winning blog about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning teen literature and culture.
- Dr. Robert McGarry, director of education for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, who provides educators with tools to teach young people the value of respecting difference.
- Shelbi Day, staff attorney in the Western Regional Office of Lambda Legal, who has a particular interest in issues concerning LGBT youth and schools.
The Arne Nixon Center is home to what is thought to be the nation’s largest library collection of GLBTQ literature for children.
For more information, contact Jennifer Crow a librarian at the Arne Nixon Center, 559.278.8116 or jcrow@csufresno.edu.
