Assembly Bill 1078 was introduced in the California Legislature to prevent school boards to ban textbooks. Tony Shin reports for the NBC4 News on Sept. 27, 2023.
School boards in California are barred from enacting textbooks bans that are based on racial and LGBTQ+ subject matter under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Assembly Bill 1078 prevents school boards from banning instructional materials and library books that promote inclusive and diverse perspectives, ensuring compliance with state law. Specifically, the law prevents school boards from rejecting books based on their teachings about the contributions of people from different racial backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities.
“With this new law, we’re cementing California’s role as the true freedom state: a place where families — not political fanatics — have the freedom to decide what’s right for them,” Newsom said in a statement. "California's schools are laying the foundation for a comprehensive support structure for both educators and students, underpinned by principles of equity, inclusion, and academic success."
Books bans, some based on textbook representations of sexuality and LGBTQ+ history, have become a flashpoint across the country and in Southern California.
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Assembly member Dr. Corey A. Jackson authored the bill. The 60th District lawmaker, who served on the Riverside County Board of Education in 2020, introduced the legislation in January after moves to ban schoolbooks gained traction elsewhere in the United States.
"I just knew it was a matter of time before it came to California," Jackson said. "And, as someone who grew up in the Inland Empire, I knew that there were pockets that would agree with the movement that is happening."
The Temecula Valley Unified School District voted this summer to reject elementary school curriculum, in part, due to some school board members' concerns over supplementary material that mentioned former San Francisco supervisor and gay rights advocate Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978.
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A 2011 California state law requires schools to teach about historical contributions of members of the LGBTQ+ community. The school board later approved a modified curriculum after the state threatened a fine.
The new legislation takes effect immediately.
"From Temecula to Tallahassee, fringe ideologues across the country are attempting to whitewash history and ban books from schools," Newsom said in a statement. "With this new law, we're cementing California's role as the true freedom state: a place where families — not political fanatics — have the freedom to decide what's right for them."
NBCLA reached out to members of the Temecula Valley School Board who rejected the curriculum for comment, but did not receive a response.
