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Gov. Gavin Newsom. | Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
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The Temecula school board’s second rejection of LGBTQ+ content in elementary school curriculum prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday to announce that the state plans to procure more timely textbooks for the school district’s elementary students.
Citing noncompliance with state law for continuing to use textbooks published in 2006, California officials are “entering into a contract to secure textbooks to ensure students in the district begin the school year with access to up-to-date books and materials. … Elementary students in Temecula are slated to begin the school year on August 14, 2023, without proper instructional materials … because of the school board’s 3-2 majority’s repeated decision to reject an updated curriculum.”
On May 16 the Temecula Valley Unified School District Board of Education voted to reject a proposed curriculum and textbook for its kindergarten through fifth-grade social studies program. A majority of board members — Board President Joseph Komrosky, Jennifer Wiersma and Danny Gonzalez — concluded that it contained “morally objectionable material.” Board members Steven Schwartz and Allison Barclay voted against rejecting the updated curriculum.
Prior to the vote Komrosky noted his opposition to the curriculum’s inclusion of information on Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to a California political office who reportedly had a sexual relationship with a teen when he was in his 30s.
“Why even mention a pedophile?” Komrosky asked during the board’s May 16 meeting in reference to Milk.
Newsom swiftly condemned the board’s action and has followed up on his vow to address the matter with a series of public statements.
“The three political activists on the school board have yet again proven they are more interested in breaking the law than doing their jobs of educating students — so the state will do their job for them,” Newsom said in a statement released Thursday. “California will ensure students in Temecula begin the school year with access to materials reviewed by parents and recommended by teachers across the district. After we deliver the textbooks into the hands of students and their parents, the state will deliver the bill — along with a $1.5 million fine — to the school board for its decision to willfully violate the law, subvert the will of parents, and force children to use an out-of-print textbook from 17 years ago.”
State officials pointed out that TVUSD documents published online show that the district’s current curriculum violates “at least three state laws and frameworks.”
According to a school district staff report, “This current curriculum … does not meet the History-Social Science Framework (2016), ELA/ELD Framework (2014), or the Fair Education Act (2013).”
TVUSD officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The textbook the state intends to provide on behalf of the Temecula school district is part of one of four state-approved curriculum programs and is commonly used across California’s hundreds of school districts, officials said.
“During the last academic year, the curriculum was piloted by nearly 1,300 families in Temecula classrooms and was recommended by teachers representing every elementary school in the district and overwhelmingly supported by parents and community members,” state officials said. “Materials were available for public and parent review for months. According to the school district, during the community feedback period, 98.8% of parents, educators, and community members expressed being supportive or impartial to the adoption.”
In addition to the updated textbooks for Temecula students, Newsom is working on a proposed law with the state Legislature and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond that will impose fines on school districts which fail “to provide adequate instructional materials,” officials said.
In California there are approximately 5.9 million students in grades transitional kindergarten through 12 in more than 1,000 school districts and over 10,000 schools, according to the state Department of Education.
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