To address the needs of LGBTQ+ students across California, English teacher James Aguirre was selected to be a part of the new LGBTQ+ Statewide Advisory Task Force on July 26, Aguirre said. The task force, mandated by Senate Bill 857, is composed of a group of students, healthcare professionals and teachers addressing issues for LGBTQ+ students across the state, Aguirre said.
The task force will be working in smaller groups to research and problem-solve these issues; the ultimate goal is to create a report about possible solutions for the state superintendent and sponsors of the bill by 2026, Aguirre said. Aguirre was one of the 30 members chosen from a pool of 115 applicants for his experience and work in the queer community at HHS, Aguirre said.
“I’d like queer teens to not be stressed out,” Aguirre said. “I’d like [queer] teens to not feel isolated or discriminated against. I think things have gotten better, but some of the big societal issues, I don’t know that they [have] changed a ton. So I want to help influence them.”
In support of this change, principal Denae Nurnberg said Aguirre is an experienced teacher and would be able to bring his classroom experience to provide insight into policy across the state and formulate new policies aiming to create a more inclusive school environment.
“[Similar to] the financial literacy legislation, this task force [will] influence policy and legislation to enact change and is [also] mainly driven by educator input,” Nuremberg said. “Hopefully [Aguirre] will be able to make that same influence at a state level, which is wonderful.”
Specifically, Aguirre said he hopes to first address the issue of individual school district mandates. Some districts require teachers to inform parents if their children are queer, which does not comply with state laws, Aguirre said.
“We’re really lucky at FUHSD [because] we are more accepting and supportive than most districts,” Aguirre said. “I know not all students have that experience across the state, and I care about [those] students even if they are not my own.”
Currently, one of the largest issues LGBTQ+ students at HHS face is disregard for reports of bullying by admin, Pride Club president, junior Shaurya Prayag said.
“A lot of times when we report [acts] like harassment or bullying, it is met with a very lackluster response from admin,” Prayag said. “They seem to say ‘Oh, just get over it’ or try to dismiss it and say that it was our fault for overreacting.”
Prayag said she continues to see multiple issues in the overall curriculum concerning the LGBTQ+ community, such as unrepresentative sex-ed in biology classes. There is also an overwhelming lack of representation for LGBTQ+ communities in high school literature, and she hopes to see more options and diversity in book lists, Prayag said.
While Aguirre currently addresses this issue in his classrooms by providing students with the choice of optionally reading books about LGBTQ+ issues, he still feels himself shying away from talking about explicitly queer issues, Aguirre said. He said he believes that joining the task force can also guide him toward becoming more clear about LGBTQ+ topics in his classroom.
“I need to make sure I’m reflecting my queer students and their heritage,” Aguirre said. “We have a heritage as well, and [I need to make] sure that their voices and their lives are also represented.”
Though much is undecided about what action the task force will take, Aguirre said he hopes the experience will teach him to not avoid controversy in his own classroom.
“Just because [books are] controversial to very few members of the community does not mean they are to most people, and the more we talk [and] read about the controversy, the more normal it becomes,” Aguirre said. “I really found a new kind of energy to do that this year.”
