During the 2022 campaign, CalMatters state Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal wrote about how the state Republican Party — struggling to win statewide office in deep-blue California — decided to focus on local school boards with its “Parent Revolt” program.
The GOP’s goal: To capitalize on parents’ anger over COVID-19 shutdowns and concerns about “critical race theory” and other “culture war” staples.
The success — and consequences — of that strategy are now playing out.
Last fall, Sameea talked to Sonja Shaw who was then running for the Chino Valley Unified School District board in the Inland Empire to “preserve the rights of a parent.”
She won. And on Thursday night, as board president, she ran the meeting where she pushed a policy, similar to a bill blocked in the Legislature this year, to require district teachers and staff to notify parents if a student asks about gender change, changes their pronouns or otherwise identifies as LGBTQ.
State schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond showed up at the meeting to oppose the policy. He warned that the policy might be illegal and would “put our students at risk.”
When he hit the one-minute time limit for speakers, things got tense: Shaw cut off Thurmond’s mic and lectured him.
- Shaw: “We’re here because of people like you. You’re in Sacramento proposing things that pervert children … You’re not going to blackmail us.”
When Thurmond tried to respond, security guards escorted him out as many audience members cheered, a video on social media shows. Later on Twitter Thurmond — elected last November to four more years as the state’s top education official and a potential candidate for governor in 2026 — wasn’t backing down.
- Thurmond, in a tweet: “I don’t mind being thrown out of a board meeting by extremists. I can take the heat — it’s part of the job. What I can’t accept is the mistreatment of vulnerable students whose privacy is being taken away.”
(A First Amendment lawyer later told EdSource Thurmond’s ejection was unwarranted.)
Eventually, after four hours, the board passed the policy, though Attorney General Rob Bonta had also warned about potential violations of students’ privacy and rights. A federal judge recently blocked a similar policy passed by the Chico Unified School District.
The debate is far from over in Chino Valley.
While the Coalition for Parental Rights said it was “extremely pleased and proud” of Shaw for a “policy that acknowledges the important role parents play in the mental and emotional health of their children,” Equality California said it was “appalled and alarmed by the level of blatant homophobia and transphobia.” And Shaw’s stand has put her at odds with some parents, who are threatening to try to recall her from office.
Temecula school board backs down, sort of:
Meanwhile, another Southern California school board has partly reversed course in the face of state pressure.
The Temecula Valley Unified School District board had banned elementary social studies textbooks over a mention of gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk. In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state leaders vowed to send the books and threatened a $1.5 million fine.
Friday night, Ed Source reports, the board approved the curriculum but also voted to exclude a chapter on civil rights, including the gay rights movement. The board president said he wasn’t buckling under Newsom but wanted to avoid legal liability.
In a statement, the governor said the district still faces a state civil rights investigation.
Newsom: “Demagogues who whitewash history, censor books, and perpetuate prejudice never succeed. Hate doesn’t belong in our classrooms.”
