Coalition Seeks To Halt Controversial Temecula Valley USD Policies

TEMECULA, CA — The Temecula Valley Unified School District is continuing to defend itself against ongoing legal action stemming from a lawsuit filed by a coalition of students, parents, teachers and a teachers’ union.

On Wednesday, the coalition filed a motion for preliminary injunction against the TVUSD Board of Trustees seeking to bar enforcement of controversial districtwide policies implemented by three of the five trustee board members.

The three TVUSD governing board members — Dr. Joseph Komrosky, Jennifer Wiersma and Danny Gonzalez — were elected to the TVUSD board in November 2022 with support from Inland Empire Family PAC, which works to "stop the indoctrination of our children by placing candidates on school boards who will fight for Christian and conservative values."

Critics have blasted the three board members over their critical race theory ban; their controversial critical race theory "panel" that many TVUSD teachers dubbed "indoctrination camp"; their censoring of instruction about California's gay rights movement; their attempted defiance of state education code; their firing of the district's superintendent; the hiring of their own team of attorneys at taxpayers' expense to defend against ongoing lawsuits over their actions; their ban on pride and other flags; and their mandate that educators report to parents about transgender students, among other things.

The coalition first filed its lawsuit against the TVUSD board on Aug. 2. and amended the complaint Oct. 13 after additional controversial policies were approved by the three board members. The lawsuit "seeks to create a legal precedent that affirms students’ right to comprehensive, fact-based education and a safe learning environment in California’s K–12 public schools," according to the legal team of Public Counsel, which is representing the plaintiffs along with the law firm Ballard Spahr LLP.

In a released statement, plaintiff and TVUSD teacher Amy Eytchison said, "Temecula’s students have no time to lose. The board’s policies are denying them an accurate education and a safe school environment. They’re suffering personally, academically, and socially."

An emailed statement Thursday from TVUSD spokesman James Evans said, “TVUSD is unable to comment on pending litigation.”

Two of the TVUSD board members — Allison Barclay and Steven Schwartz — have not aligned with Komrosky, Wiersma and Gonzalez but the pair are named in the lawsuit.

According to Public Counsel, the complaint against the TVUSD is supported by 12 experts in the fields of education and health, including: Dr. Prudence Carter, Dr. Thomas Dee, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Dr. Jeremy Goldbach, Dr. Tyrone Howard, Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Dr. Uma Jayakumar, Dr. Sabra Katz-Wise, Dr. Rita Kohli, Dr. Marcos Pizarro, Dr. Sari Reisner, and Dr. John Rogers.

A hearing on the coalition’s latest request is set for Jan. 24.