Temecula Valley Unified Sued Over CRT Ban

A lawsuit has been filed against the Temecula Valley Unified School District on behalf of parents, teachers and students who are upset over a ban on so-called Critical Race Theory (CRT). 

According to the suit, the school board violated the California Constitution’s guarantee of public education that protects students from racial discrimination when it approved the ban last year. The suit also alleges the policy flouts mandatory state learning standards on racism and inequality.

TVUSD’s resolution states that CRT is “an ideology based on false assumptions about the United States of America and its population,” which “assigns generational guilt and racial guilt for conduct and policies that are long in the past.”

According to opponents of the ban, thorough discussions about race and systemic inequality in classrooms ended once the resolution was passed, as teachers feared these discussions could be interpreted as CRT.

TVUSD’s policy has deprived students “of the opportunity to engage in factual investigation, freely discuss ideas and develop critical thinking and reasoning skills” and does damage to marginalized students, according to the lawsuit.

The legal outcome could have significant implications. Some other districts have also approved bans on CRT, including Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified in Orange County.