California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday that his office will be providing students with copies of a textbook after a local school district voted to reject the book as part of its social studies curriculum due to its mentioning of gay-rights icon Harvey Milk.
The Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) Board of Education, in southern California, voted in May to reject a curriculum that was recommended by the State Board of Education for grades one through five. The lesson plan includes a textbook that contains information about Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, and a staunch supporter of LGBTQ+ rights.
Newsom said in a statement shared to Twitter that the state was "stepping in" and would be purchasing and providing the textbook that mentions Milk for students at TVUSD, noting in a tweet that it's "the same one that hundreds of thousands of kids are already using."
"I want you to know that we're moving forward, the state's moving forward, toward purchasing and procuring those social studies books," Newsom said in a recorded message. "Your kids have the freedom to learn, and you have the freedom to access those books ... So rest assured, we'll be sending those books down in very short order."
The Democratic governor also added a warning to the "extremist school board members" who voted against adopting the material, writing: "If these extremist school board members won't do their job, we will — and fine them for their incompetence."
A school board in Temecula decided to reject a textbook because it mentioned Harvey Milk.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 13, 2023
CA is stepping in.
We’re going to purchase the book for these students—the same one that hundreds of thousands of kids are already using.
If these extremist school board members won’t do… pic.twitter.com/r2iirL8b5v
During a vote on the curriculum in May, TVUSD board member Danny Gonzalez said that he found "the inclusion of sexually based topics and the glorification of a known pedophile who happened to be an advocate for gay rights to 10-year-olds morally reprehensible and inappropriate." Gonzalez later clarified that the "known pedophile" he was referring to was Milk, reported CNN.
According to The Legacy Project, Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, and was championed for working alongside the city's mayor, George Moscone, for pushing legislation that outlawed discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation. Both Milk and Moscone were assassinated by a fellow board supervisor in 1978—11 months after Milk took office.
According to the late San Francisco journalist Randy Shilts' biography of Milk, the activist shared a controversial relationship with 16-year-old Jack McKinley while living in New York City. According to CNN's report, Milk was 34 at the time.
Anna Tapley, TVUSD's director of curriculum and instruction, said during the board's meeting in May that the curriculum in question does not specifically mention Milk but instead includes a short biography on the activist's work in a supplemental resource for teachers, reported CNN.
"My question is why even mention a pedophile?" responded Dr. Joseph Komrosky, the board's president. "Why even mention that? What has that got to do with our curriculum in schools? That's a form of activism."
In response to Newsom's tweet on Thursday, Komrosky said that Newsom had "mischaracterized" TVUSD's opposition to the curriculum, which the school board's president said was part of a "pilot study conducted by" the Temecula Valley school district.
"Members of the Board of Education did state concerns about a supplemental material, not a textbook, that was part of that curriculum related to a lesson for fourth graders about Mr. Milk," read Komrosky's statement, which was shared with Newsweek Thursday evening. "But what the Governor has conveniently ignored is that members of the Board of Education expressed other significant concerns about the District's process, including whether it had adequately engaged the community regarding the adoption of curriculum, as well as whether the proposed curriculum adequately addressed the needs of English learners and special education students."
Komrosky added that in light of the concerns, several stakeholders within the TVUSD are working on assembling a new curriculum "that meets all state standards" before the school year begins on August 14. That proposed curriculum will be presented to the school board for adoption on July 18.
"What is also unfortunate is that the Governor knows this and has elected to publish this threatened action ahead of the District's hard work on this matter that will come to fruition in just a few days," Komrosky added.
Debates have been growing across the country in several Republican-led states over restricting school materials that include topics such as gender orientation, sexuality and race. Newsom previously warned in a letter to California school administrators that his state would not be following suit, however.
"Access to books—including books that reflect the diverse experiences and perspectives of Californians, and especially those that may challenge us to grapple with uncomfortable truths—is a profound freedom we all must protect and cultivate," read part of the letter, according to a report from CBS News Los Angeles affiliate KCAL.
Update 07/13/23, 9:56 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from Komrosky.
