TVUSD School Board Backtracks Controversial LGBTQ+ Policies

TEMECULA, CA — During the Wednesday Temecula Valley Unified School District Governing Board Meeting, the board voted 5-0 to rescind parent notification and flag banning.

All TVUSD governing board trustees, including Steve Schwartz, were present via teleconference as they discussed teacher contracts and the report filed by the Public Employment Relations Board.

The decision was to remove two "unfair labor practices" in the classroom, at the behest of PERB, including removing the teachers' task of notifying parents if their child wishes to be named a gender other than the one on their birth record and now allowing flags of all kinds to be flown inside school classrooms.

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"We didn't have any choice. We were told by PERB that we had to rescind, as both violated the teacher contracts," he said, referring to the below document, initially obtained by the PE.

The report states that the district violated the contract by implementing policies without negotiating "employee discipline."

Schwartz said during the meeting that the group's actions were "not necessarily illegal, but (policies) have to be negotiated if they affect the contract."

Mrs. Jenn Weirsma shared her thoughts on the policy, saying parents wanted neutral classrooms and to avoid "useless policies" during the discussion. “I am fighting to protect these kids and advocate for parents," she said. "We are going to back up and do the process as we should."

New board member Emil Barham called it a "sad day," as two policies he agreed with were going away.

The Public Employment Relations Board complaint was initially filed in 2023, and a final cease and desist letter was sent to the governing board on Oct. 14.

The TVUSD initiated the two practices in 2023, followed by Murrieta, Chino, and numerous other school districts.

Riverside Superior Court Judge Eric Keen initially allowed both issues in February. At that time, Keen denied the Mae M. v. Komrosky plaintiffs, who sought a preliminary injunction on the policy of parent notification of a child who wanted to be identified by a gender other than that of birth record.

When the TVUSD adopted its policy with a 3-2 vote on Aug. 22, 2023, then Board President Dr. Joseph Komrosky taunted Bonta, Gov. Gavin Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

"If [the policy] was illegal, it would have been shut down by now," said Komrosky, who voted in favor of the policy. "They [Bonta, Newsom and Thurmond] haven't done anything because they can't. They just want to troll our school district and I'm tired of it."

At that meeting, TVUSD Trustee Steven Schwartz voted against the policy and said it put the district in legal peril.

The mandated notification is a "slippery slope" for teachers and staff, said then TVUSD Trustee Allison Barclay, who also voted against the policy. She said it forces educators to choose between adhering to state law or district policy.

In July of 2024, AB1955 was signed into state law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, making such policies illegal.

Read the full meeting report in the Press-Enterprise:

806390752-PERB-Report by PE, via Patch News

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