MCPS Develops and Adds LGBTQ and Disability History To Curriculum

Going into the 2020-2021 school year, MCPS will add a new LGBT and Disability History Course to its class catalog.

Eric Luedtke, along with 47 other delegates in the Maryland General Assembly, wrote a letter to Superintendent Karen Salmon explaining the reasons why adding this class would be beneficial to MCPS. 

Among the reasons was the importance of telling the full story of communities who have been discriminated against. Luedtke adds that by sharing these experiences with students they will be able to participate in our growing and diverse society. 

Luedtke acknowledges the History curriculum that MPCS has now, but feels as it could benefit from including even more demographics. Not only would this allow students to be represented, but gives other students a basic understanding of the challenges these groups face. 

He proposes this class now based on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which sparked the modern LGBTQ+ movement. He believes that after half a century, it is time to add a class like this to the growing curriculum. Throughout those years, other states have added this material to their learning. This increasing pressure has added to the need to kickstart this course. 

As well as creating an entire class, MCPS will also diversify its English Language Arts texts and students’ experiences in PE/Health, Fine Arts, and World Languages. To develop this subject, they looked to Uma Fox, a Richard Montgomery student, to add student experience to the class.

Developing the course exemplifies the need for inclusivity in schools. Although adding the class to be a possible elective could advocate an important message, it has a few questions about leadership and material that are soon to be answered.