CA school board adopts state LGTBQ+ curriculum, reverses book ban

(NewsNation) — A California school district voted unanimously to adopt the state’s new social studies book and curriculum during a meeting after previously rejecting it twice. Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened the district with a $1.5 million fine.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District had objected to the book’s coverage of LGBTQ+ figures in history. Despite agreeing to adopt the curriculum, the board said it will pull any material referencing gay rights activist Harvey Milk, which was one of the main points of contention.

The new social studies book in question is called, “Social Studies Alive!” and complies with 2011 state laws requiring that students get instruction about “the role and contributions of people with disabilities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans; and other ethnic and cultural groups.”

Conservative members of the school board have complained that supplemental material for the curriculum contains a three-paragraph mention of Milk, who was also the first openly gay politician to be elected to office in California.

Two of those members, Joseph Komrosky and Danny Gonzalez, called Milk a “pedophile” in a May 16 board meeting and did not want the curriculum used in Temecula schools.

The comment drew criticism from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A Tenecyka Valley teacher was ejected from the school boarding meeting following the vote after calling a board member a “homophobe”

Temecula Valley USD Board President Dr. Joseph Komrosky said the material isn’t appropriate for elementary students.

“Inappropriate content because of the age they would be exposed to it. So it’s not necessarily the content, it’s it age-appropriate; that’s the big deal. We are talking about elementary school here,” he said.

JP Santone, a teacher in Temecula Valley, told NewsNation they can’t teach about Milk without mentioning his sexuality.

“There’s no other way to include him in the curriculum without saying the reason why he is so important is because of his sexuality,” he said. “Then, you have to get into that topic with a third-grader or fourth-grader who may not even know what that means or what that is, and now you’ve got a teacher explaining that to the kids instead of their family and their parents.”

Parents like Traci Nolasco said she’s concerned that Newsom got involved in local politics in Temecula.

“He’s overstepped and strong-armed in this district,” Nolasco said.

After reviewing options, the board said it may consider replacing the text referencing Milk with the biography of another gay rights leader instead.

Newsom released a statement following Temecula Valley USD’s vote, stating, “This has never been about parents’ rights. It’s not even about Harvey Milk who appears nowhere in the textbooks students receive. This is about extremists’ desire to control information and censor the materials used to teach our kids.”

NewsNation affiliate KTLA contributed to this report.