I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8445 
To authorize the Director of the National Museum of American History 
of the Smithsonian Institution to support LGBTQI+ history and wom-
en’s history education programs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 20, 2022 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. TORRES of New 
York, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 
BOWMAN, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. CA´RDENAS, 
Mr. CASE, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of 
New York, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN, 
Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. 
GREEN of Texas, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. JACOBS of California, 
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. 
LANGEVIN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE of 
California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. MENG, 
Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PIN-
GREE, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCHA-
KOWSKY, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SOTO, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. 
STEVENS, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VARGAS, 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
House Administration 
A BILL 
To authorize the Director of the National Museum of Amer-
ican History of the Smithsonian Institution to support 
LGBTQI+ history and women’s history education pro-
grams, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘LGBTQI+ and Wom-
en’s History Education Act of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the New-York Historical Soci-
ety Museum & Library, only 13 percent of named 
historical figures in textbooks across the United 
States are women. 
(2) In 2017, the National Women’s History 
Museum analyzed elementary and secondary edu-
cation standards in social studies for all 50 States 
and the District of Columbia and found that ap-
proximately 1 woman was mentioned for every 3 
men in these standards. 
(3) The Museum also found that 53 percent of 
the mentions of women’s history were included with-
in the context of domestic roles, as opposed to the 
20 percent that were included within the context of 
voting rights and suffrage and 2 percent that were 
included within the context of being in the work-
force. 
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(4) Countless studies show that when youth feel 
seen and affirmed in their curricula, they experience 
improved academic engagement and achievement. In 
research the National Women’s Law Center con-
ducted in partnership with Latina girls in 2019, the 
girls reported that when they feel represented in 
their curricula, they feel a powerful sense of belong-
ing and an emphasized identity of resilience. 
(5) According to the National Women’s History 
Alliance, only 3 States (Illinois, Florida, and Lou-
isiana) have mandated that women’s history be 
taught in elementary, middle, and high schools. 
(6) According to GLSEN, only 7 States (Cali-
fornia, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, New 
Jersey, and Oregon) have passed legislation in sup-
port of an LGBTQI+ inclusive curriculum. 
(7) According to the Museum of disABILITY 
History, as of 2014, 24 States had established dis-
ability awareness curriculum for public schools or 
were in the process of passing legislation to do so. 
(8) In March 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis of 
Florida signed HB 1557 into law. Commonly known 
as the ‘‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’’ legislation, this 
law prevents teachers from administering instruction 
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on sexual orientation and gender identity in kinder-
garten through third grade. 
(9) GLSEN reports that 9 other States in addi-
tion to Florida (Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, 
Mississippi, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Tennessee, 
and Texas) have recently passed curriculum censor-
ship laws that prohibit honest teaching about race, 
gender, or LGBTQI+ communities. 
(10) According to the African American Policy 
Forum, at least 16 States have passed racial and 
gender equity curriculum prohibitions, and 15 other 
States are considering them. 
(11) According to Education Week, at least 15 
States are considering nearly 30 bills that would af-
fect discussions or interactions with LGBTQI+ 
youth in schools during the 2021–22 legislative ses-
sion. 
(12) According to GLSEN, 4 States (Lou-
isiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas) have ‘‘no 
promo homo’’ laws in place that prevent positive and 
affirming representations of LGBTQI+ identities in 
schools. 
(13) LGBTQI+ youth already experience high 
rates of mistreatment in schools: 
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(A) According to GLSEN’s 2019 National 
School Climate Survey, over 80 percent of 
LGBTQI+ students ages 13 to 21 report being 
verbally harassed during any given school year. 
(B) According to the National Center for 
Transgender Equality’s 2015 U.S. Transgender 
Survey, 77 percent of transgender K–12 stu-
dents experienced anti-transgender mistreat-
ment, including verbal harassment, and physical 
or sexual assault. 
(C) According to a 2021 survey, 45 per-
cent of intersex students reported experiencing 
gender-based 
harassment 
or 
discrimination 
from teachers or faculty during the 2021 school 
year. 
(14) Nationally, only 19.4 percent of respond-
ents to GLSEN’s 2019 National School Climate 
Survey said they had been taught any positive rep-
resentations of LGBTQI+ people, history, or events 
in their schools. 
(15) Results from GLSEN’s 2019 National 
School Climate Survey also indicate that, compared 
to students in schools without an LGBTQI+-inclu-
sive curriculum, LGBTQI+ students in schools with 
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women, particularly women of color, were de-
nied that right. 
(C) Judith Ellen ‘‘Judy’’ Heumann is an 
internationally recognized disability rights advo-
cate who played a leading role in the develop-
ment and implementation of major legislation, 
including the Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
cation Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation 
Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities 
Act, and the Convention on the Rights of Per-
sons with Disabilities. 
(D) Alice Wong is a queer disabled activist 
and the founder and director of the Disability 
Visibility Project who served on the National 
Council on Disability. 
(E) Ruby Bridges, a Black civil rights ac-
tivist, pioneered the school desegregation move-
ment and was among the first Black students 
to integrate schools in the South at the age of 
six. Ruby’s story, particularly as it was memori-
alized in her children’s book, Ruby Bridges 
Goes to School: My True Story, continues to in-
spire girls across the country but was also one 
of the histories specifically targeted for censor-
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ship in States prohibiting honest teachings 
about race. 
(17) Discrimination on the basis of sex (includ-
ing sexual orientation and gender identity) com-
pounds with discrimination on the basis of other 
identities, such as race, national identity, religious 
background, or disability. Within marginalized 
groups, compounding layers of discrimination across 
intersectional identities often results in the most 
marginalized members of a group being silenced or 
left out of historical narratives. 
(18) All women, LGBTQI+ people, and those 
living at the intersection of those identities, deserve 
to be represented in classrooms across the country 
in an accurate, unbiased, intersectional, and inclu-
sive manner. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 
school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 
school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the mean-
ings given such terms in section 8101 of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
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(2) INCLUSIVE EDUCATIONAL APPROACH.—The 
term ‘‘inclusive educational approach’’ means a 
teaching approach that acknowledges, includes, and 
affirms experiences of people who are Black, Indige-
nous, and people of color (‘‘BIPOC’’), people with 
disabilities, LGBTQI+ people, and all marginalized 
communities. 
(3) 
INTERSECTIONAL
EDUCATIONAL
AP-
PROACH.—The term ‘‘intersectional educational ap-
proach’’ means a teaching approach that acknowl-
edges, includes, and affirms the unique and com-
pounded forms of discrimination experienced by 
those who live at the intersection of two or more op-
pressed identities. 
(4) 
LGBTQI+.—The 
term 
‘‘LGBTQI+’’ 
means sexual and gender minority populations, as 
defined by the Sexual and Gender Minority Research 
Office of the National Institutes of Health, including 
individuals 
who 
are 
lesbian, 
gay, 
bisexual, 
transgender, queer, nonbinary, Two-Spirit, and 
intersex. 
(5) LGBTQI+ 
HISTORY
EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘LGBTQI+ history education’’ means cul-
turally relevant (to the extent practicable), unbiased, 
non-discriminatory, and accurate education about 
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the roles and contributions of LGBTQI+ individuals 
in order to promote representation and visibility and 
combat prejudice, inclusive of multiple identities 
within 
LGBTQI+ 
populations, 
including 
transgender, nonbinary, gender non-conforming, 
Two-Spirit, and intersex individuals, which have his-
torically 
been 
marginalized 
within 
the 
larger 
LGBTQI+ population. 
(6) WOMEN’S HISTORY EDUCATION.—The term 
‘‘women’s history education’’ means culturally rel-
evant (to the extent practicable), unbiased, non-dis-
criminatory, and accurate education about the roles 
and contributions of women, with a specific focus on 
non-domestic roles, in order to promote representa-
tion and visibility and combat prejudice. 
(7) CULTURALLY RELEVANT.—The term ‘‘cul-
turally relevant’’ means, with respect to education, 
education that is— 
(A) available in multiple languages; and 
(B) consistent with census data and demo-
graphics of the area in which the education will 
be provided. 
(8) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the National Museum of American 
History of the Smithsonian Institution. 
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SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$2,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and for each of the 4 suc-
ceeding fiscal years. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—The Director, in accordance 
with any program of the National Museum of American 
History of the Smithsonian Institution established before, 
on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act, shall 
use funds appropriated under subsection (a) to carry out 
the following activities: 
(1) The development and national dissemination 
of accurate, relevant, and accessible national re-
sources for classrooms to administer LGBTQI+ and 
women’s history education in an inclusive and inter-
sectional approach, which shall include digital re-
sources and may include other types of resources, 
such as print resources and traveling exhibitions. 
(2) The development, national dissemination, 
and implementation of principles of sound pedagogy 
for administering LGBTQI+ and women’s history 
education. 
(3) The provision of professional development 
services to administer LGBTQI+ and women’s his-
tory education, such as through— 
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(A) local, regional, and national work-
shops; 
(B) teacher trainings or engagement in 
conjunction with LGBTQI+ and women’s his-
tory education centers and other appropriate 
partners; 
(C) engagement with— 
(i) local educational agencies; 
(ii) State education agencies; 
(iii) schools that are independent of 
any local educational agency; and 
(iv) school-based extracurricular meet-
ings or organizations; and 
(D) development, operation, and expansion 
of a teacher fellowship program to cultivate and 
support leaders in LGBTQI+ and women’s his-
tory education. 
(4) Engagement with State and local education 
leaders to encourage the adoption of resources sup-
ported under this Act into curricula across diverse 
disciplines. 
(5) Through an intersectional and inclusive ap-
proach, convening experts, providing opportunities 
for discourse, and engaging with the public through 
programming, educational resources, and social 
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media with respect to LGBTQI+ and women’s his-
tory education. 
(6) Through an intersectional and inclusive ap-
proach, increasing resource capacity, technical sup-
port, and content creation to engage various audi-
ences in person and via online platforms with respect 
to LGBTQI+ and women’s history education. 
(7) Creating, expanding, and disseminating 
scholarly work through research, curricula, in-house 
and traveling exhibitions, publications, and program-
ming with respect to LGBTQI+ and women’s his-
tory education. 
(8) Providing language translation of the work 
of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of 
American History, including scholarly work, re-
search, traveling exhibitions, publications, program-
ming, pamphlets, and other information distributed 
about activities funded under this Act with respect 
to LGBTQI+ and women’s history education. 
(9) Expanding the collection acquisition and 
collection access processes, including staffing, con-
servation, processing, and digitization with respect 
to LGBTQI+ and women’s history education. 
(10) Creating, developing, implementing, repli-
cating, or taking to scale entrepreneurial, evidence- 
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based, field-initiated innovations for museum im-
provement with respect to LGBTQI+ and women’s 
history education, and evaluating rigorously such in-
novations. 
(c) ONLINE LGBTQI+ AND WOMEN’S HISTORY 
EDUCATION RESOURCES.— 
(1) WEBSITE.—In addition to the activities de-
scribed under subsection (b), the Director shall use 
the funds appropriated under subsection (a) to de-
velop and maintain on the website of the Smithso-
nian Institution’s National Museum of American 
History content designated for educators, students, 
and families to improve their awareness and under-
standing of LGBTQI+ and women’s history edu-
cation. 
(2) INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION.—The Direc-
tor shall use such funds to distribute information 
about the activities funded under this Act through 
the website of the Smithsonian Institution’s National 
Museum of American History, and shall respond to 
inquiries for supplementary information concerning 
such activities. 
(3) CONTINUATION OF ACTIVITIES.—To the ex-
tent that the Smithsonian Institution’s National Mu-
seum of American History is engaged in an activity 
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described in subsection (b) or this subsection on the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall 
use the funds appropriated under subsection (a) to 
continue that activity. 
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT. 
(a) REPORT REQUIREMENT.—Not later than Feb-
ruary 1 of each year, the Director shall submit to the Con-
gress and make available to the public a report describing 
how the funds made available under this Act have been 
used— 
(1) to create and promote educational activities; 
and 
(2) to otherwise carry out this Act. 
(b) BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date on which funding is first distributed under this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the Director or the Director’s 
designee shall brief the Committee on House Administra-
tion of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Rules and Administration of the Senate on the pro-
grams and activities carried out under this Act. 
(c) SUNSET.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall cease to 
be effective on September 30, 2027. 
Æ 
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