LGBTQ+ Students Cultural Competency Training FAQ

Effective January 2024, California Education Code (EC) Section 218.3(b)(1) requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to finalize, on or before July 1, 2025, the development of an online training delivery platform and online training curriculum to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) cultural competency training for teachers and other certificated employees. The goal for the training is to increase support for LGBTQ+ pupils and thereby improve overall school climate. (EC Section 218[a])

Yes, LGBTQ+ cultural competency training is required for all teachers and other certificated employees serving pupils in grades seven through twelve. More specifically, beginning with the 2025–26 school year, and continuing through the 2029–30 school year, a local educational agency (LEA) serving pupils in any of grades seven through twelve must provide and require at least one hour of LGBTQ+ cultural competency training annually, in a manner designed to cover the core elements of the curriculum developed pursuant to EC Section 218.3(b). (EC Section 218.3[c])

All teachers and other certificated employees serving pupils in grades seven through twelve are required to complete one hour annually. (EC Section 218.3[c])

An LEA serving pupils in any of grades seven through twelve must provide at least one hour of LGBTQ+ cultural competency training annually, commencing with the 2025–26 school year, and continuing through the 2029–30 school year.
(EC Section 218.3[c])

The CDE has contracted with the Los Angeles County Office of Education to develop the Providing Relevant Inclusive Support that Matters for LGBTQ+ Students (PRISM) program. The PRISM curriculum will contain six courses that collectively address all of the topics listed in EC Section 218.3(b)(3).

These courses will be hosted in a learning management system that will be available beginning July 2025, and for which there will be no charge.

LEAs must ensure that the training is completed on paid time during the employees’ regular work hours or designated professional development hours unless otherwise negotiated and mutually agreed upon with the employees’ local bargaining unit. (EC Section 218.3[c][4])

A LEA is required to maintain records documenting both of the following:

• The date that each employee satisfied the requirements of this section.
• The name of the entity that provided the training. (EC Section 218.3[c][2])

Moreover, an LEA must maintain the records according to their local retention policy and make the records available to the CDE upon request, as part of the annual program monitoring. (EC Section 218.3[c][3])

Training completion data must be maintained by LEAs and made available to the CDE upon request, as part of the department’s annual compliance monitoring of state and federal programs.(EC Section 218.3[c][2][3])

Currently, the free online PRISM training for LGBTQ+ cultural competency is only available for all teachers and other certificated staff serving pupils in grades seven through twelve.

An LEA may choose to use an in-service training as an alternative to the free online PRISM training. If so, the LEA must ensure that the alternative training is substantially similar to and meets the same standards of PRISM. (EC Section 218.3[d])