Violence erupted outside a North Hollywood school over a Pride Day assembly this month. Confrontations have been boiling over in SoCal, leading to arrests, following nationwide efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights.

Howard Blume, who covers education for the LA Times, joined Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today” us with the story.

What You Need To Know

  • LAUSD intends to double down on their support of the LGBTQ+ community, Blume said

  • Data has shown that inclusive education is beneficial for students who often feel underrepresented

  • “In Glendale, there were arrests that resulted when they declared an unlawful assembly and ordered everybody to go home," Blume said
  • The school board in Temecula recently banned a curriculum that included a biography of Harvey Milk, who was a major figure in the gay rights movement

The altercation in North Hollywood was not the only incident this month. Blume explained what happened when a protest outside of a Glendale school board meeting turned violent.

“In Glendale, there were arrests that resulted when they declared an unlawful assembly and ordered everybody to go home. There was a pretty large police presence at both gatherings. And it's funny, on the same day as the Glendale gathering, the LA School Board was passing a strong resolution in support of diversity, education and sensitivity to LGBTQ+ issues. Glendale was doing much the same thing, passing a gay pride resolution. And that was probably the impetus for that protest," Blume said.

LAUSD intends to double down on their support of the LGBTQ+ community, Blume said. Data has shown that inclusive education is beneficial for students who often feel underrepresented. Blume spoke to parents about the issue.

“When this issue came up in Glendale last year, there were some people who are against any form of this inclusive education, and I suppose their druthers would be that the gender norms would be emphasized as normal. But at the very least, they wanted silence on the issue. People on the other side say silence is not enough. People need to see that they are okay, that they’re represented in the community because they are a part of a community,” Blume shared.

The school board in Temecula recently banned a curriculum that included a biography of Harvey Milk, who was a major figure in the gay rights movement. LAUSD school board president Jackie Goldberg read the short book in its entirety at a recent meeting.

"It was a book describing the different kinds of families that people have and the different cultures, the different celebrations, the different kinds of clothing and food," Blume explained. "She got quite emotional in the meeting, talking about the experiences with discrimination in her own life, how she was part of a family with her and her wife and how they raised children… She made it clear that she's going to protect those families and those kids, at the same time welcoming all people to express their views."

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