Effort Launched to Strip LGBTs From Calif. Education Act

A second effort is on the table to take down California's FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, Respectful) Education Act, which will require that the state's public schools teach the contributions of LGBT and handicapped people.

The new effort hopes to strip LGBT people from the legislation, which was passed and signed into law earlier this year -- it goes into effect January 1. Now right-wing groups hope to collect over 500,000 signatures to get the issue on the November 2012 ballot, where voters would be allowed to strip LGBT people from the law's provisions.

"Regardless of these political maneuvers, we are already working with students, administrators, teachers, and parents to ensure that California schools are prepared to follow the FAIR Education Act on January 1 and present a full, fair and accurate picture of history," Laura Valdez, interim executive director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network, said in a statement. "Without honest and inclusive classrooms, we cannot expect schools to provide the safe learning environment that all students deserve."

An earlier effort to kill the FAIR Act failed when conservatives didn't receive the required signatures to qualify a ballot initiative. Read more about the FAIR Act here.