Because he has two mothers, Joseph, a third-grader, became a victim of physical and verbal bullying at his former elementary school. The harassment became so intense that his mother, Anne Faria-Poynter, transferred him to Donald D. Lum Elementary, where she is a physical education instructor.

"He would cry like 95 percent of the time in kindergarten and first grade," Faria-Poynter said.

Starting this fall, Alameda Unified School District students will learn about family units like Faria-Poynter's.

Faria-Poynter attended a community meeting held by AUSD on June 26 in which teachers and administrators discussed Lesson 9, an addition to the current Caring School Curriculum, which requires teachers to teach elementary students about different types of families.

The Alameda's Board of Education passed Lesson 9 in a 3-2 vote on May 28. While Alameda was not the first Bay Area school district to implement such curricula, it still faced opposition. According to news reports in May, AUSD received hundreds of letters from parents questioning the move.

Under Lesson 9, kindergarten teachers will instruct their students on welcoming classmates of the "protected classes:" disability, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. In later grades, students will learn about being an ally to children of LGBT households, preventing bullying and stereotypes. For example, fourth graders will read, "My School is Accepting - But Things Could Be Better," a first-person account written by an 11-year-old boy who lives with two moms.

David Kirwin, a father of three and a former BOE trustee, said at first he disapproved of Lesson 9 because the original committee was only inclusive to the LGBT community.

"They didn't have the counter-balance to keep [the] perspective of the entire community," and a more diverse committee emerged as the project progressed that "redeemed a lot of credit that they had lost," Kirwin said.

After a year of planning, a one-year pilot program began and teachers met to adjust lessons to their student's needs, according to Gail Rossiter, a retired administrator who is part of the committee in charge of the implementation.

Rossiter, a supporter of Lesson 9, views it as a positive change. "It's about creating a safe environment for all students."

Three years ago, the San Leandro Unified School District passed its version of CSC. Steve Cassidy, a former SLUSD board member, said parents were initially resistant to it but later viewed it as a positive addition. Cassidy said AUSD's Lesson 9 was "watered down" compared to San Leandro's version.

"Everybody has to move at their own pace and hopefully Alameda will see that it's a very positive experience," he said.

Some Alamedans, like Shirley Doumitt, 76, believe tolerance-based learning should take place at home.

"It's [not] up to other people to teach your children stuff like that," she said.

Others, like Katherine Valois, 38, believe that tolerance should be taught everywhere. "It's part of the community [to raise] children," she said.

AUSD board president Mike McMahon, who voted no, and vice president Ron Mooney, who supported Lesson 9, had no comment. The Mayor's Office also declined to comment.

Faria-Poynter, who married her partner last year before the passage of Prop 8, said she wants to dispel LGBT stereotypes.

"We are people of religion," she says. "We are people of respect."