OAN’s Shawntel Smith-Hill
6:13 PM – Thursday, July 20, 2023
On Wednesday, Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) would be receiving a fine of $1.5 million, amidst previous ongoing battles, over their rejection of proposed instructional material mentioning the slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk.
“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 Wednesday in a statement.
On Tuesday, a 3-2 vote saw the TVUSD board once again reject the state endorsed material for its mention of Milk, who became the first openly gay politician elected into office in California.
Parents and conservative members of the board expressed concern over past allegations that Milk was a pedophile who had inappropriate relations with a teenager. Additionally, those in favor of rejecting the proposed material argued that sex and homosexuality were not appropriate topics for elementary school-aged students.
“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 said.
These latest parental disputes pushing back against politician-led school policies come at a time when a plethora of other districts around the country are discussing the matter of LGBTQ+ material and have opted to implement these courses and kind of language into classrooms.
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