California Appeals Court Puts Hold on School District’s CRT Ban

Appellate judges order the Temecula school district to lift its ban on critical race theory until a lawsuit on the matter is resolved.

Parents in support of the Temecula Valley Unified school board's decision to terminate the district’s superintendent amid controversy surrounding critical race theory and other school curricula, attend a board meeting in Temecula, Calif., on June 13, 2023. Micaela Ricaforte/The Epoch Times

A California appeals court put the brakes on Temecula Valley Union School District’s ban on teaching critical race theory (CRT) on May 19, reversing a lower court’s decision that allowed the ban to stay in place.

Judges in California’s Fourth District Court of Appeal ordered the lower court to issue a preliminary injunction that requires the district to pause enforcement of its 2022 resolution prohibiting the teaching of certain concepts related to CRT until the lawsuit is resolved.

“We find the Resolution is unconstitutionally vague on its face because it employs ambiguous language, lacks definitions, is unclear in scope, is seemingly irreconcilable with state-mandated educational requirements, and contains no enforcement guidelines,” appellate judges wrote in their opinion.

One of the school district’s banned CRT concepts was, “Racism is racial prejudice plus power, a concept that is often used to argue that (i) only individuals classified as ‘white’ people can be racist because only ‘white’ people control society and (ii) individuals in ethnic minorities cannot be racist because they do not control society.” Another was, “Racism is ordinary, the usual way society does business.”

The judges claimed there was no evidence of students in the district being taught the prohibited concepts in schools.

Last year, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an amicus brief in the case, supporting the Temecula Valley Educators Association, students, parents, and individual teachers who filed the lawsuit in 2023 against two of the district’s policies: a directive mandating school staff inform parents if students change their gender identity and the ban on teaching CRT.

Bonta applauded the ruling on May 20.

In a statement, Bonta’s office said that the appellate decision recognized the school board’s resolution was “dramatically overbroad, including provisions that could be construed to bar lessons about discriminatory Jim Crow laws, segregation, racial inequalities in the criminal justice system, and the civil rights movement.”

Advocates for Faith and Freedom—a California-based organization that advocates for constitutional liberties and religious freedom—defended the CRT ban in court.

The organization stated that it planned to continue fighting for the school district’s policy.

Community members attend a Temecula Valley Unified School District board meeting in Temecula, Calif., on Aug. 22, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

“We ask for your continued prayers as this battle moves forward, and we want to express our deep gratitude for your unwavering support and partnership,” the organization posted on Facebook on May 19. “This ruling does not resolve the merits of the plaintiff’s claims. It is a procedural decision addressing whether an injunction should be in place while the litigation moves forward.

“We believe that once the full facts are presented, the policies at issue will be upheld as lawful and necessary,” the group added.

In February 2024, a Superior Court judge denied the state’s request for a preliminary injunction against the school district in Temecula, allowing the district’s ban to continue.

The teachers and other defendants appealed the case.

Their lawsuit argues that the district seeks to eliminate “any concepts that conflict with [the board members’] ideological viewpoints, including the history of the LGBTQ rights movement and the existence of racism in today’s society.”

The plaintiffs claim the school board’s ban on CRT is ambiguous and violates the California Constitution’s assurance of a fundamental right to education.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Eric Keen said he found no ambiguity in the board’s ban on CRT.

“A person of ordinary intelligence would have a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited as what is prohibited is set out specifically in the Resolution,” the judge wrote.

In December 2024, the school board rescinded its policy mandating school staff to tell parents when students change gender identity.

In July 2024, state legislation was signed into law prohibiting districts from enacting such policies. The new state law is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, which alleges the measure that took effect Jan. 1 conflicts with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Sophie Li contributed to this report.