Two left-wing law firms in California have initiated legal action against the Temecula Valley Unified School District following the district’s decision to prohibit the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in classrooms.
Public Counsel and the Ballard Spahr law firm are suing Temecula Valley USD due to its implementation of Resolution 21, a resolution described as a ban on educators incorporating critical race theory and discussions of systemic racism in their curriculum. The lawsuit, on behalf of parents, teachers, students, and the Temecula Valley Educators Association, claims that Resolution 21 violates California’s statutes against censorship and discrimination.
“This morning, public counsel and the law firm Ballard Spahr are 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 matter, and about their racial and gender identities.”
-Public Counsel attorney Mark Rosenbaum
Joseph Komrosky, the President of the Temecula Valley USD school board, has been an outspoken critic of critical race theory’s inclusion in classrooms. In a statement, he asserted, “I do not believe that CRT [critical race theory] or any racist ideology is a suitable educational framework for classroom instruction at the elementary and secondary level.”
This legal move follows a previous controversy at Temecula Valley USD when the school board voted to reject state-sponsored curriculum that featured gay rights activist and controversial figure Harvey Milk. This decision drew a response from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who accused the district of “violating state law.”
The debate over critical race theory in public classrooms has taken center stage in American discourse in the last few years. Some states have begun taking legislative measures to prevent this radical teaching from being implemented in schools. Florida, for example, recently passed the “Stop Woke Act” earlier this year to prevent schools from teaching students that one race is more “inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive” than another.
This piece first appeared at TPUSA.
