California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that a school district in the state will have to pay a $1.5 million fine after its school board failed “to provide adequate instructional materials.”
Members of the Temecula Valley Unified School District voted in May not to approve the use of “Social Studies Alive!” social studies textbooks. They voted not to approve the books again Tuesday.
“A school board in Temecula decided to reject a textbook because it mentioned Harvey Milk,” said Newsom in a tweet, referencing the groundbreaking California politician who was one of the world’s first openly gay elected officials.
Danny Gonzalez, Joseph Komrosky and Jennifer Wiersma, the school board’s conservative voting block, voted against using the textbooks. Allison Barclay and Steve Schwartz voted to approve the materials.
“You three, you’re going to get your way every time – and that’s the life we’re going to live for now. Hopefully it’s not forever,” said Barclay. “But, I would encourage parents to keep reaching out to all of us.”
Barclay said that parents “overwhelmingly” supported approving the textbooks and that much of the criticism came from people who live outside of the district.
“Since this board has been in power, we have done nothing to improve the education of this district,” said Schwartz. He said that what they have done is “waste a lot of money on nonsense.”
Conservatives have been pushing a “culture war” against subjects such as LGBTQ history and what they often incorrectly interpret as “critical race theory” for years now at school board meetings. This has been widely reported in outlets such as Vox, The New York Times, The Hill and more.
In California, the FAIR Education Act requires public schools to “include the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful reference to contributions by people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ community in history and social studies curriculum.”
According to Newsom, the books rejected by the Temecula Valley Unified School District are part of an updated social studies curriculum established for the state. He said that a failure to provide the textbooks would be a violation of state law. In fact, the district’s current curriculum is in violation of multiple state laws.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Newsom also explained that the books were “recommended by teachers representing every elementary school in the district and reviewed by parents and community members,” and that it is widely used.
It has even been used in Temecula.
“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,” said Newsom’s press release. “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.”
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