Would the state of California "out" Abe Lincoln, now that a controversial biography has suggested that he not only changed the course of a nation but also shared a bed with men?

Would Eleanor Roosevelt be singled out not just for her seminal work pursuing the New Deal and fighting for human rights, but for her relationship with a woman?

Would Renee Richards, the tennis player who underwent sex reassignment surgery in 1975 and fought successfully to compete as a woman, merit mention in a history book?

On Friday, a day after the state Senate voted to require that the historical contributions of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people be taught in California schools, the weight of practicality -- how would it be accomplished? -- settled in.

Many educators and activists found themselves in a briar patch of confusion -- even those who believe that folding the concept of sexual orientation into the school curriculum would lead to greater levels of tolerance and acceptance.

The bill, which still needs the approval of the Assembly and the signature of Gov. Schwarzenegger, would require schools to incorporate, in about six years, studies of the "role and contributions" made by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to the "economic, political and social development" of California and the United States.

The legislation would require the state Board of Education to integrate the subject matter into the curriculum. It does not say, however, how that should happen -- what form the instruction might take, what material it might include or at what grade level the new material should be taught.

"How far do we have to go?" asked James Berger, who retired last year after a 35-year teaching career and now is a "coach" of local history teachers. "I read one time that (Nazi leader) Herman Goering liked to wear dresses. Is that important to note? Because he was also a murderer, and that seems to be the essence of what he was about."

Textbook manufacturers, they say, would require far more documentation and confirmation than, say, "The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln," the biography that raised the issue of Lincoln's sexual orientation, which was seen by some historians as slipshod and irresponsible.

Supporters say that bulking up the curriculum dealing with gays is more likely to mean the inclusion of the Stonewall Rebellion, the 1969 gay rights struggle in New York, in the context of America's other civil rights movements. Or, they say, it could mean expanding the discussion of AIDS to note that gays were not only some of the most prominent victims of the disease, but the most prominent people fighting it.

"The only way that gay and lesbian kids can see themselves in schoolbooks now is in the context of the AIDS epidemic or wearing pink triangles during the Holocaust," said David Holladay, executive director of the nonprofit Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network Los Angeles.

"It doesn't mean there has to be a huge categorical insert of some kind (into the text)," he said. "That's the picture that (critics are) painting -- that there's going to 10 pink pages at the end of each chapter."

California schools already are required to teach about the historical and social contributions of blacks, women, American Indians, Hispanics, Asians and other ethnic groups. The addition of homosexuals to the list raises complex issues, say some of the educators who have concerns about the measure.

The historic and social role of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, was defined by his race. Susan B. Anthony's fight for women's suffrage was informed by the fact that she was a woman, and there are parallel examples in the arena of gay rights.

Proponents of the bill cite gay rights leader Harvey Milk as an example of someone who would be included in the proposed curriculum. Milk, a San Francisco supervisor, was shot and killed along with Mayor George Moscone by a former supervisor in 1978. The fact that Milk was gay is clearly relevant in any discussion of his historic role.

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