LOS ANGELES : Schools to Observe Gay Pride Month

The Los Angeles Unified School District has designated June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month as part of an effort to recognize diversity and encourage discussion of human relations issues in the classroom.

“This says to the students of Los Angeles that it is OK to be who you are and that we acknowledge you,” school board member Jeff Horton, who introduced the resolution last month, said Monday.

The resolution refers to the June, 1969, conflict between police and gays in New York City--the Stonewall Riots--that is widely considered the genesis of the modern gay-rights movement.

In approving the observance, which is to be a yearly event, the board also referred to the district’s new “Educating for Diversity” policy, which urges school officials to “develop students who appreciate and respect diversity” and who “understand the roles and contributions of people of diverse groups.”

The authors of the blueprint also recommended a comprehensive curriculum that would include the history of treatment of homosexuals in society, discussions on homophobia, and the contributions made by gays and lesbians to history and culture.