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[[Eric Rofes]] author of the book, ''A Radical Rethinking of Sexuality and Schooling: Status Quo or Status Queer?'', argues that the inclusion of teachings on homosexuality in public schools will play an important role in transforming public ideas about lesbian and gay individuals.<ref name="Rofes">Rofes, Eric E. "Chapter 2: Candy from Strangers: Queer Teachers and the (Im)Moral Development of Children." A Radical Rethinking of Sexuality and Schooling: Status Quo or Status Queer. Ed. Eric E. Rofes. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005. 15–37. Print.</ref> As a former teacher in the public school system, Rofes recounts how he was fired from his teaching position after making the decision to come out as gay. As a result of the stigma that he faced as a gay teacher he emphasizes the necessity of the public to take [[political radicalism|radical]] approaches to making significant changes in public attitudes about homosexuality.<ref name="Rofes" /> According to Rofes, radical approaches are grounded in the belief that "something fundamental needs to be transformed for authentic and sweeping changes to occur. "The radical approaches proposed by Rofes have been met with strong opposition from [[LGBT rights opposition|anti-gay rights]] activists such as [[John Briggs (politician)|John Briggs]]. Former California senator, John Briggs proposed [[Briggs Initiative|Proposition 6]], a [[ballot initiative]] that would require that all California state public schools fire any gay or lesbian teachers or counselors, along with any faculty that displayed support for gay rights in an effort to prevent what he believe to be "the corruption of the children's minds".<ref name="Fetner">Fetner, Tina. 2008. How the Religious Rights Shaped Lesbian and Gay Activism. University of Minnesota Press.</ref> The exclusion of homosexuality from the sexual education curriculum, in addition to the absence of sexual counseling programs in public schools, has resulted in increased feelings of isolation and alienation for gay and lesbian students who desire to have gay counseling programs that will help them come to terms with their sexual orientation.<ref name="Rofes" /> Eric Rofes founder of youth homosexual programs, such as [[Out There (youth program)|Out There]] and [[Committee for Gay Youth]], stresses the importance of having support programs that help youth learn to identify with their sexual orientation.
[[David Campos]], author of the book, ''Sex, Youth, and Sex Education: A Reference Handbook'', illuminates the argument proposed by proponents of sexual education programs in public schools.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A1247C|title=Sex, Youth, and Sex Education|website=abc-clio.com|language=en-US|access-date=January 28, 2019}}</ref> Many gay rights supporters argue that teachings about the diverse sexual orientations that exist outside of [[heterosexuality]] are pertinent to creating students that are well informed about the world around them. However, Campos also acknowledges that the sex education curriculum alone cannot teach youth about factors associated with sexual orientation but instead he suggests that schools implement policies that create safe school learning environments and foster support for LGBT youth.<ref name="Campos">{{cite book|author=Campos, David|title=Sex, Youth, and Sex Education: A Reference Handbook|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Library of Congress Cataloging|year=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FKmVUwbUlGgC|isbn=978-1-57607-776-4}}</ref> It is his belief that schools that provide unbiased, factual information about sexual orientation, along with supportive counseling programs for these homosexual youth will transform the way society treats homosexuality.<ref name="Campos" />
Many opponents of LGBT social movements have attributed their indifference toward homosexuality as being a result of the immoral values that it may instill in children who are exposed to homosexual individuals.<ref name="Fetner" /> In opposition to this claim, many proponents of increased education about homosexuality suggest that educators should refrain from teaching about [[Human sexuality|sexuality]] in schools entirely. In her book entitled "Gay and Lesbian Movement," [[Margaret Cruikshank]] provides statistical data from the [[Harris Insights & Analytics|Harris and Yankelovich polls]] which confirmed that over 80% of American adults believe that students should be educated about sexuality within their public school. In addition, the poll also found that 75% of parents believe that homosexuality and abortion should be included in the curriculum as well. An assessment conducted on California public school systems discovered that only 2% of all parents actually disapproved of their child being taught about sexuality in school.<ref name="Darder">{{cite book|editor1=Darder, Antoninia|editor2=Marta Baltodano|editor3=Raldolfo Torres|name-list-style=amp|title=The Critical Pedagogy Reader|location=New York, NY|publisher=Routledge Falmer|year=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a2bvKJ6S-L8C&pg=PA496|isbn=978-0-415-92261-6}}</ref>
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