By the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, New Jersey schools will be required, by law, to teach LGBT history.

Gov. Phil Murphy, who promotes equality for gay and transgender people, signed the bill that requires schools to educate students on the history of this topic.

Not only was the bill signed to teach LGBT history, but also disability-inclusive material.

According to northjersey.com, students will learn about the “social, political and economic contributions of LGBT individuals,” but it is up to the local districts themselves to decide how they want to teach those lessons in their schools.

Private New Jersey schools are the only ones that are not affected by this law and therefore are not required to add LGBT history to their curriculum.

As of right now, only two of our fifty states have adapted this new educational requirement: California and New Jersey. Although that is a very small quantity of states, at least we can say that our nation is starting somewhere.

Social Studies classes involving LGBT material will not be confined to one single lesson. When it comes to buying books for lessons, the new law requires schools to purchase ones that accurately represent diversity, as well as include contributions of those from the LGBT community.

Many times throughout history, people have remained unremembered and were swept under the rug due to their gender identity and sexuality. Covering this topic in schools would be a good way to teach students that no matter what they identify as, they can still play a large role in society.

It is important that students feel properly represented in whatever setting they are in. No one should have to feel like an outsider in the place they spend the most time in. Requiring New Jersey schools to teach LGBT history is a step in the right direction of inclusivity.

This is a win for the LGBT community in New Jersey. There will always be a side that doesn’t agree with it, and insists that this law is lessening the importance of other historical events, but that shouldn’t be the case.

Although this new law leaves it up to the districts to decide how to incorporate LGBT history into their education, and it is an important topic to cover, we should let the students decide whether or not this is something they’re interested in learning about.