LGBTQ rights are under fire all over the United States at the moment in the wake of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. In March of 2022 in Wisconsin, assembly Republicans attempted to pass legislation requiring parents to be notified of any mention of the LGBTQ community in the classroom and allowing them to opt their students out. While this bill did not pass the first time around, it is critical that students' right to a comprehensive, inclusive education is protected.

As it stands, 67% percent of Wisconsin's LGBTQ students have been harassed for their sexuality or gender identity at school, and only 22% have been taught positive representations of LGBTQ figures or history (GLSEN). Under the conservative legislature's plan, these issues can only worsen. It is time that Wisconsin remedies this epidemic of hate and marginalization by following in the footsteps of states like Illinois and Nevada and requiring public schools to use LGBTQ-inclusive curricula.