Temecula school board sued for critical race theory ban

The Temecula Valley school board is being sued over a critical race theory ban approved in December at the first meeting of its conservative board majority.

The legal action was announced Wednesday morning at a Los Angeles news conference. Those suing include Temecula’s teachers union.

Mark Rosenbaum, director of Public Counsel Opportunity Under Law, called the filing “the first ever civil rights action in California challenging the imposition of curriculum censorship of what students can learn about American history, about racial and gender subject matters, and about their racial and gender identities.”

Amanda Mangaser Savage, supervising senior staff attorney at Public Counsel, said the group will pursue a court order “seeking to strike down this resolution as unconstitutional.”

“It is vague, it is discriminatory, it is unlawful and it contravenes every single freedom at the heart of American democracy,” Savage said.

Temecula Valley

Unified School District spokesperson James Evans was not immediately available for comment Wednesday morning. In the past, district officials have said the district does not teach critical race theory.

The resolution in question passed on a 3-2 vote Dec. 13.

Board members Joseph Komrosky, Danny Gonzalez and Jen Wiersma — the newly-elected conservative majority — voted in favor. Board members Allison Barclay and Steven Schwartz, who have often opposed initiatives of the board majority, voted no.

Temecula Valley Unified School District teachers and parents also spoke at Wednesday’s news conference, detailing their concerns and experiences they’ve had since the resolution was passed.

“As a teacher, my role is to introduce my students to a broad range of viewpoints so they can learn to think critically and form their own opinions about the world,” Dawn Sibby, a teacher at Temecula Valley High School, said in a news release issued after the event. “This ban has created a climate of fear in our classrooms, and it is preventing my students from learning about the history and diversity of our nation. I’m proud to be a plaintiff in this case to fight for my students, who deserve an education not censored by Board members’ ideological beliefs.”

After banning critical race theory, the Temecula school board received more national attention in May, when the majority blocked a social studies curriculum over concerns including that fourth grade supplemental materials mention the late LBGTQ leader Harvey Milk.

That decision sparked an investigation from the state Department of Education and the threat of a fine from Gov. Gavin Newsom.