A conservative Riverside County school board that had previously rejected a social studies curriculum that mentioned slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk reversed course Friday night and said it would go forward with the instructional materials that meet state standards.
The decision by the Temecula Valley Unified School District followed a series of contentious public meetings and a threat by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fine the district $1.5 million if it did not purchase new social studies books approved by the state before the start of the new school year Aug. 14. Milk is mentioned in supplemental materials, not the actual textbook.
Some board members opposed lessons on LGBTQ+ history as inappropriate with at least one saying the curriculum would promote pedophilia.
Board President Joseph Komrosky, who has opposed the curriculum and called Milk a pedophile, did not immediately return a message. The board said at Friday night’s meeting it would pull any reference to Milk in supplemental materials and replace it with the biography of another gay rights activist, according to KTLA-TV.
The governor, who has fashioned himself a progressive leader in national culture war issues, applauded the board vote in a statement.
“Fortunately, now students will receive the basic materials needed to learn,” said Newsom, who had previously pledged to send textbooks to the district even without board approval. He blamed “extremists” for opposing a curriculum that parents and teachers evaluated positively.
“Demagogues who whitewash history, censor books, and perpetuate prejudice never succeed. Hate doesn’t belong in our classrooms and because of the board majority’s antics, Temecula has a civil rights investigation to answer for,” Newsom said, referring to an investigation he announced last month by the state Department of Education.
Under a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011, history lessons and textbooks in California public schools are required to include contributions of gay, lesbian and transgender Americans.
As a direct response to the situation playing out in Temecula in recent months, Newsom has rushed to create new legislation that, if passed, will give the state additional power over school textbooks.
The district, in an area that leans Republican, oversees the education of about 28,000 students.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
