Newly conservative California school board bans critical race theory in first meeting

The Temecula Valley Unified School Board voted to prohibit the teaching of Critical Race Theory from its classrooms on Tuesday.
The move comes after the board majority recently flipped with three newly elected candidates.
“I believe that the Temecula School Board is going to be a beacon of light to the rest of the state and the rest of the nation. If it can be done in Temecula. It can be done anywhere. If it can be done in California, you can do it anywhere,” Pastor Tim Thompson, founder of the Inland Empire Family PAC, a group focused on parental rights in education that endorsed the three candidates, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

After flipping to a conservative majority, a California school board voted to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT) on Tuesday.

The Temecula Valley Unified School Board adopted a resolution 3-2 which bans the teaching of CRT from the classroom, the same night the three new board members were sworn in. The resolution was introduced by newly elected Joseph Komrosky who said the resolution was a way for him to keep “a campaign promise.”

“The first night Dr. Joseph Komrosky said ‘I ran my campaign making promises to my future constituents and tonight, I’m gonna make good on those campaign promises,’” Pastor Tim Thompson, founder of the Inland Empire Family PAC, a group focused on parental rights in education that endorsed the three candidates, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is the first one and he did good on that campaign promise and I’m grateful for that. He’s a man of his word. All three of them.”

CRT holds that America is systemically racist, and teaches people to consider social interactions in terms of race. Its adherents pursue antiracism by forgoing merit-based policies in favor of race-based policies.

The board can require educators to teach curriculum only approved by the board and neither United States law or California law require the teaching of CRT, the resolution stated. The policy stated that the school district “will not tolerate racism and racist conduct.”

The board also adopted a resolution condemning racism Tuesday, stating that any racist conduct will be punished.

Inland Empire Family PAC worked with and endorsed the three school board candidates in an effort to bring “pro-parental rights candidates” to the Temecula Valley Unified School Board, according to the group website. The group began in 2017 when parents discovered a comprehensive sex education curriculum was being taught within the school district.

The Temecula Valley Unified School Board is setting an example for other school boards who have recently flipped their majority, Thompson told the DCNF.

“They did what they told people they would do,” Thompson said. “This is just the beginning. I believe that the Temecula School Board is going to be a beacon of light to the rest of the state and the rest of the nation. If it can be done in Temecula. It can be done anywhere. If it can be done in California, you can do it anywhere.”

Parent Revolt, a program launched by the California Republican Party to help parents run for education positions, also endorsed the three elected candidates to the Temecula Valley Unified School Board, Shawn Steel, the founder of Parent Revolt, told the DCNF. Banning CRT was a thoughtful first move by the board, Steel told the DCNF.

“It looks like Temecula made a very smart move,” Steel told the DCNF. “It looks to be successful. Everybody’s gonna be in California looking at Temecula and some of the next moves they make.”

Temecula Valley Unified School District did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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