Temecula Valley Unified School District’s decision to block critical teaching of race theory in its classrooms will continue for now, a Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
A group of parents, students and teachers had sought a preliminary injunction to block a school board policy banning the teaching of critical race theory, which examines how racial inequality and racism are systematically embedded in American institutions. .
The request for an injunction arose as part of a lawsuit filed against the district in August, which alleged that the conservative board’s ban on the curriculum was vague and violated the California Constitution’s guarantee of a “fundamental right ” to an education that is “basically equivalent to that provided in other parts of the state.”
Attorney Amanda Mangaser Savage, who represents parents, teachers and students, argued that the board’s policy had already created confusion among teachers about what they could discuss in class.
But on Friday, Judge Eric Keen denied the request for a preliminary injunction, rejecting the argument that the Riverside County district’s policy was unclear. He wrote in an eight-page ruling that the board’s resolution lays out the specific elements of critical race theory that cannot be taught. Keen added that the resolution limits the teaching of critical race theory to a “subordinate role within a broader instructional framework” and focuses on “flaws” in the curriculum.
“It seems clear to the court that a person of ordinary intelligence would have a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited, since what is prohibited is specifically stated in the resolution,” he wrote.
Keen also weighed in on a controversial parent notification policy that requires district staff to inform parents when their child requests to be identified as a different gender or use a name other than their legal name. He wrote that the policy applies equally to all students in the district, is “gender neutral” and “does not expressly single out transgender or gender nonconforming students, as it applies to any student’s request for change their official or unofficial school records.”
Mangaser Savage called Friday’s ruling a “disappointing result for students.” The group plans to appeal the decision to an appeals court while the lawsuit continues, she said.
“Right now we have students who are sitting in classrooms and receiving an education that is really tainted by the physiological censorship of the board and by the anti-LGBTQ and racial animus of the board,” he said.
A Temecula Valley Unified School District representative could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.
The battle began in December 2022, when the conservative majority on the school board passed a resolution banning the teaching of critical race theory, which has become a rallying point for critics who want to limit discussions about the racism. In the resolution, the district states that its goal is to “uplift and unite students by not imposing responsibility on them for the historical transgressions of the past.” The resolution states that critical race theory is “an ideology based on false assumptions about the United States of America and its people.”
The district’s schools had not taught critical race theory before the policy was enacted.
In July, the district made headlines again when it rejected proposed educational materials that mentioned Harvey Milk, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the first gay man elected to public office in California. Milk was killed in 1978.
Temecula Valley Unified Board President Joseph Komrosky called Milk a “pedophile” during a board meeting. In a Twitter post, Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by calling Komrosky “ignorant.”
Newsom later threatened to fine the district $1.5 million for refusing to adopt compliant textbooks. He said the state would purchase the books for the district anyway.
In August, the district faced increased scrutiny when it approved its transgender notification policy. Supporters of such policies, which have also been implemented in districts in Chino Valley and Murrieta Valley, have argued that parents have a right to know what is happening with their children. However, critics have said it could lead to students being abused or abandoned by parents who do not accept their children’s gender identity.
“It’s really concerning to us that Temecula is now in the same group as jurisdictions like Texas and Florida, where policy really determines what students have access to in public school classrooms,” Mangaser Savage said.