On Jan. 7, when students returned to class after the holiday break, Garden State Equality, a New Jersey LGBTQ advocacy group, launched its LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum pilot program in twelve schools.

On Wednesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation streamlining the adoption process for LGBTQ families.

Pennsylvania Senate Bill 212, which would ban LGBT-panic defenses in criminal cases across the state, has been pending in the state Senate Judiciary Committee for almost a year.

Chris Rowe, chairman of the New Castle County Republican Committee, was asked to resign after he used a homophobic slur on social media. According to screen captures posted on Blue Delaware on Dec. 31, Rowe used the word “fa--ot” on Facebook in response to a string of comments on his page.

On Jan. 1 of this year, Frank McGehee and Dean Dafis were sworn in as Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Maplewood, New Jersey, replacing former Mayor Vic DeLuca, who was in the role for 14 years. Dafis is the town’s first openly gay elected official.

A Dunkin’ Donuts shop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has asked a federal judge to dismiss the antibias lawsuit of a trans woman of color who claims a hostile work environment prevented her from doing her job properly and resulted in her illegal firing.

The Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown received a national grant from the American Library Association (ALA) to support 2020 Census work in the LGBT community. The LGBT Library at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center was one of 59 libraries nationwide to receive a $2,000 Library Census Equity Fund grant from the American ALA.

Garden State Equality is partnering with The RAIN Foundation, New Jersey Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden, Burlington) and New Jersey Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden, Burlington) to launch the state’s first clothing drive to support LGBTQ homeless youth.

On Dec. 17, the Huntingdon Borough Council voted to adopt an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance, making the borough the first rural community and 58th municipality in Pennsylvania to enact local protections for LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Oral arguments will be held in Pittsburgh early next year in the case of three transgender women who are challenging a provision in the state’s name-change law that prevents Pennsylvanians convicted of serious felonies from changing their names.