Straights Need Not Apply: California Teachers Union Discriminates on Basis of Sexuality
Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell /
The California Teachers Association offers a scholarship limited to LGBT students, though the Biden administration’s Title IX rule change prohibits sexuality-based discrimination.
“Self-identified LGBTQ+” union members pursuing a career in public education can apply by May 31, 2023, for the LGBTQ+ Safety in Schools Program to receive a scholarship of up to $2,500,” the scholarship website says.
“The LGBTQ+ Safety in Schools Grant and Scholarship Program in Honor of Guy DeRosa was created to promote human and civil rights by making our public schools safe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning+ persons (LGBTQ+),” the website adds.
In June, the Biden administration extended the prohibition of discrimination based on sex in Title IX to include sexual orientation and gender identity. The administration said schools and educational institutions that did not comply would lose funding, but the White House appears indifferent to the California Teachers Association’s sexual orientation discrimination.
Neither the California Teachers Association nor the White House responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.
The scholarship application has a drop-down menu asking teachers to identify themselves as either lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or “queer/questioning+ person.” There is no identification option for straight applicants.
“This scholarship program appears to apply only to ‘self-identified LGBTQ+’ people, which means that it discriminates against people whose gender identity or sexual orientation does not fall under that umbrella,” GianCarlo Canaparo, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, told The Daily Signal. “If this program receives federal funds, then under the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, it is unlawful.” (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
The California Teachers Association is a state branch of the National Education Association, which has a history of pushing radical gender ideology on students. The NEA hosted a webinar over the summer recommending that educators begin teaching the concepts of preferred personal pronouns and gender identity starting in pre-kindergarten. It also promoted Black Lives Matter at School Week curriculum, which included lessons on “transgender affirmation” and “queer affirmation.”
Teachers are expected to write their scholarship application essays on experiences or a personal philosophy that would benefit the LBGT public school community. Essays should cover the importance of role models for “LGBTQ+ ethnic minorities,” incorporate the applying teacher’s involvement in LGBT education, and demonstrate “an understanding of the importance of LGBTQ+ role models” in schools.
Elementary school teachers are eligible to apply.
“Don’t expect the Biden administration to enforce its interpretation against its ideological allies,” Canaparo said. “It does not believe in equal laws and equal rights.”
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