California leaders demand more “diversity” in education, including LGBT themes, and vow more oversight for resisting school boards.
California’s Department of Education and legislators joined forces and came together on Wednesday to call on textbook publishers to commit to producing educational resources and materials “free from discrimination and inclusive of the diverse narratives that reflect the student body of California.”
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond vowed more oversight with potential penalties on school boards that resist state policies on inclusive materials.
Attendees react to the Temecula Valley Unified school board's decision to terminate the district’s superintendent amid controversy surrounding critical race theory and school curriculum during a board meeting in Temecula, Calif., on June 13, 2023. (Micaela Ricaforte/The Epoch Times)
“Many of our textbooks haven’t kept up with that diversity. This is a chance to diversify those narratives,” Thurmond said during the press conference. “This is all happening against the backdrop of where you have governors in other states literally trying to strip out any representation about race, about the experience of LGBT students, students with disabilities. California’s going in the other direction.”
Thurmond questioned the publishers’ motives and financial interests versus doing what’s best for California’s educational system.
“The question is,” Thurmond asked. “‘Do you believe it is in your financial best interest? These efforts that you’re talking about, do they contribute to a financial benefit to your company — and if they haven’t, do you think that they could?”
California pays textbook publishers nearly $500 million a year, according to Thurmond.
Representatives from the College Board and the Benchmark Education Co. testified in the California Capitol on Wednesday that they are committed to diversity and inclusion.
California approved “social content” standards a decade ago that require schools to portray “accurately and equitably” cultural and racial diversity and to avoid gender stereotypes. The state also has laws in place mandating comprehensive sex education and LGBT history lessons.
“The conversation today is not simply a reaction to what’s happening in our country. It is a commitment on behalf of the state of California. ... This is a commitment that we had 10 years ago and that we have today and will have in another 10 years,” California Sen. Monique Limón (D) told the LA Times. “These are the California values.”
In 2021, California became the first state to require ethnic studies as a graduation requirement for high school students.
Last Month the Temecula Valley Unified School District Board of Education came under fire when the board rejected a Social Studies Alive program for grades 1 through 5.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to the school district’s decision to decline this educational material and the inclusion of LGBT students in the classroom.
“In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn—and there are consequences for denying that freedom,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is closely watching the actions of malicious actors seeking to ban books, whitewash history, and demonize the LGBTQ+ community in Temecula and across the state. If the law is violated, there will be repercussions.”
Newsom, Thurmond and Attorney General Rob Bonta wrote a letter (pdf) to superintendents and principals this month, informing them about 1st Amendment protections and state laws regarding a “representative and unbiased” curriculum.
California is one of the leading states mandating LGBT materials in schools, where many Republican states are moving in the opposite direction. Newsom took aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential hopeful, as the governors spar over what’s best for children’s education in their respective states.
Conservatives Reject Book Ban Accusations
DeSantis signed legislation to limit teaching LGBT ideology to children before the fourth grade, known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.DeSantis has fought back against allegations that Florida is banning books, calling it a “hoax.”
“There’s not been a single book banned in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in his May 24 presidential campaign launch on Twitter Spaces. “You can go buy or you can use whatever book you want.”
Florida districts are now facing lawsuits from students and publishers as DeSantis defends his stance.“Parents have flagged books in schools that, for example, teach middle school kids how to use sex apps that provide graphic depictions of sex acts and sex toys for people as young as fifth grade,” DeSantis said. “And so clearly, that is not appropriate.”
Republican Lance Christensen, a vice president for the conservative California Policy Center said, “Just because a school decides not to curate a certain book doesn’t mean they’re banning books, it just means they don’t have to accept what the activist class feels they need to thrust upon these kids.
“Parents can still grab those books for their kids at any local bookstore. There’s no burning of books happening,” he added.
