Immigrants, gays to make mark on California education

SACRAMENTO -- Laws that promote the historical contributions of gays and lesbians and help illegal immigrant college students gain financial aid will take effect with the new year in California, even as opponents seek to overturn the legislation at the ballot box.

They are among hundreds of new laws that take effect today.

California becomes the first state today to require public schools to teach the contributions of gays and lesbians. The law adds people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose "roles and contributions" must be included in California and U.S. history lessons. It bans instructional materials judged to reflect adversely on gays or particular religions.

"We're talking about teaching historical facts at a grade-appropriate level. That's all it is," said Equality California spokeswoman Rebekah Orr, who represents California's largest gay-rights group.

Opponents are not giving up on overturning Senate Bill 48, despite failing in October to gather enough signatures to force a referendum to repeal the law.

They have filed five potential ballot initiatives that would repeal the requirement outright or let parents pull their children from classes when gay and lesbian contributions are being taught. The opponents have until spring to gather enough signatures to put the referendums before voters in November.

"That law undermines the integrity of objective history instruction for students, and even more importantly

undermines the rights of parents in deciding what is appropriate for their child regarding controversial moral and lifestyle issues," argued Brad Dacus, a spokesman for the Pacific Justice Institute, which is helping lead one of the repeal efforts.

State Sen. Mark Leno said his bill is even more important in light of recent publicity about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students being bullied, which has been blamed for some suicides of homosexual students.

"We are currently censuring the history and role and contribution of LGBT-Americans," said Leno, D-San Francisco. "It's no different than when the idea of black history or women's history was first proposed -- radical concepts at the time."

Equally contentious is the California Dream Act, which is taking effect in two steps.

Assembly Bill 130 becomes law today and will let students who entered the country illegally receive private financial aid at California's public colleges. Opponents are challenging AB 131, the second portion that allows illegal immigrants to apply for state-funded scholarships and financial aid at state universities. That provision takes effect Jan. 1, 2013.

Dream Act supporters, including Gov. Jerry Brown and the bills' author, Democratic Assemblyman Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles, say the laws show that California remains progressive while other states, including Arizona and Alabama, enacted punitive measures.

"A lot of us have grown up here. This is the only place that we know. It's home," said Irvis Orozco, 24, a senior studying international relations at the University of California, Davis. "We just want to contribute to the country by getting our education."

Orozco was brought to the country as an infant when his parents sneaked into the Central Valley from Mexico. At age 13, he joined them in the tomato fields surrounding their home in Woodland. He was still picking tomatoes in his second year in college to pay his way because he was not eligible to receive financial aid.

The new law will make scholarships available only if money remains available after legal residents have applied.

Orozco and other proponents say immigrants have paid for the aid with their taxes but have not had the benefits. He acknowledged he will have trouble getting a job because he is in the country illegally but said he hopes Congress will create a path to citizenship for students like himself.

Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Hesperia, who once led California's largest Minuteman group opposing illegal immigration, is leading the effort to rescind AB 131. That requires collecting 505,000 signatures by Jan. 6 to put a referendum on the November ballot. He said the law creates "a massive new entitlement program."

"This is not about the poor immigrant kids who came here through no fault of their own," Donnelly said of his repeal effort. "It's going to be fascinating if this goes on the ballot, because we haven't had something similar since Prop. 187."

Voters approved Proposition 187 in 1994, prohibiting the state from providing public services such as education and health care to illegal immigrants. Most of the initiative was later declared unconstitutional.

Source: http://www.thereporter.com/ci_19655847?source=rss_viewed

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