Temecula school policies to stand
Judge rules against suit challenging district's critical race theory ban, transgender notice
A judge won't block Temecula schools' critical race theory ban and transgender notification policy.
Riverside Superior Court Judge Eric Keen on Friday denied requests for court orders seeking to stop the Temecula Valley Unified School District from enforcing the two controversial policies. Keen did not elaborate on his ruling during the court hearing.
Last week, Keen ruled that the lawsuit, described as a groundbreaking challenge of a critical race theory ban, could move forward.
His denial of a temporary injunction to stop the transgender policy is in contrast with another judge's ruling that granted California Attorney General Rob Bonta's request for an injunction to block enforcement of a virtually identical policy approved by the Chino Valley Unified School District. The Murrieta Valley and Orange school districts also have similar policies.
Public Counsel, the self-described public interest law firm that sought the injunction, will appeal Keen's ruling, Public Counsel attorney Amanda Mangaser Savage said after the hearing.
“We always knew that this case was going to go up on appeal, whether we prevailed or not,” she said. “This is a question that the California appellate courts really need to decide to set a precedent for superior courts across the state of California.”
She added: “While yes, we are disappointed in today's ruling, we are excited about the possibility of taking this up on appeal and having a court rule on the merits of our claims in a way that will impact courts across California.”
The school district's attorney, Mariah Gondeiro of the Murrietabased Advocates for Faith & Freedom, said via an emailed statement: “This was a hard-fought battle that paid off for parents. This ruling vindicates the actions
taken by the TVUSD School Board who put the rights of parents and the safety of students over the wishes of special interest groups.”
In that same statement, Temecula school board President Joseph Komrosky said: “Despite the small but vocal opponents that seek to rewrite history and indoctrinate students, I am very optimistic for our school district.”
“I believe that the diversity that exists among the district’s community of students, staff, parents, and guardians is an asset to be honored and valued,” he said.
“These policies were enacted by the school board to ensure our district puts the needs of students and their parents above all else. Our district remains focused on providing a holistic education for all of our students, free from both discrimination and indoctrination.”
In his tentative ruling, Keen wrote that “it does not appear to this Court that the (board’s resolution on critical race theory) seeks to deny access to information. Rather the Resolution seeks to limit instruction on the subject of CRT to a subordinate role within a (larger) instructional framework.”
The resolution “specifically prohibits instruction on theories” such as “only individuals classified as ‘white’ people can be racist because only ‘white’ people control society,” the judge wrote.
Such theories “would seem to be incongruous with the (Legislature’s) clear intent found in California Education Code …” Keen added.
Regarding the transgender policy, Keen wrote it is “gender neutral and does not expressly single out transgender or gender non-conforming students.”
It would, for example, apply to “a cisgender male who not only wants to be called by a different, stereotypical male name but wants his school records changed to reflect the name,” the judge wrote. “… The (transgender) policy is rationally related to legitimate governmental interests.”
The lawsuit, filed in August by Public Counsel on behalf of plaintiffs ranging from the Temecula teachers’ union to teachers, parents and students, challenges a critical race theory resolution approved on a 3-2 vote by the school board in December 2022.
Board members Komrosky, Danny Gonzalez and Jen Wiersma, elected in 2022 as what was then a Christian conservative majority on the five-member board, voted for the ban, with Allison Barclay and Steven Schwartz voting no.
Gonzalez, Komrosky and Wiersma contended that critical race theory was too divisive for the classroom and teaches a victim mentality to students.
In court papers, Public Counsel argued that without being able to talk about racial oppression, “Temecula’s educators have no way to accurately and supportively guide their students in difficult but necessary discussions of topics including slavery, segregation, colonialism and i mmigration.”
Savage echoed those arguments Friday in Keen’s courtroom at the downtown Riverside Historic Courthouse. The ban, she told Keen, was overly vague and had a chilling effect on teachers, who weren’t sure what they could tell students about important historic moments.
Under the ban, teachers could find it impossible to talk about Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” because in it, the civil rights icon wrote about racial oppression, a concept forbidden from being talked about in class by the ban, Savage said.
Gondeiro told Keen that nothing in the ban precludes instructors from talking about important historical moments or teaching ethnic studies. Critical race theory can be discussed as long as teachers point out its flaws to students, Gondeiro argued.
School boards, Gondeiro argued, have broad discretion on curriculum
matters and the Temecula board’s actions reflect the values of the voters who elected them. Savage countered that the board had no right to deny access to instructional materials on viewpoints with which it disagrees.
Public Counsel’s lawsuit also challenged a district policy, passed by a 3-2 board vote in August that requires district officials to tell parents if their child identifies as transgender.
Supporters said parents have a right to know that information. Critics warned it could lead to students being abused or kicked out of their homes by parents who don’t accept
their child’s gender identity.
Savage argued that the policy discriminates against transgender and gender-nonconforming students because they are the only ones that would ask to be referred to by different pronouns or use facilities that don’t conform to their birth gender — actions under the policy that would trigger the notification requirement.
Gondeiro said the policy applies to all students equally.
“The purpose is to keep parents involved in significant and important developments that may impact the health and safety of their child,” she told Keen, adding that previous
court rulings established the right of parents to be informed about their children.
Friday’s ruling comes as the district prepares for a June 4 recall election against Komrosky, whose foes collected enough voter signatures to put his potential ouster on the ballot.
Regardless of the recall’s outcome, it’s unclear whether the board’s conservative majority will return after Gonzalez’s December resignation. A special election to fill his seat will take place after the four remaining board members failed to reach consensus on appointing a replacement.