Culture war issues such as racial discrimination, LGBTQ rights and partisan politics have been lightning rods for controversy at public school board meetings in the Inland Empire in recent years.
In 2023, parents, students and teachers sued Temecula Valley Unified School District over its policies to ban teaching of critical race theory and require teachers to inform parents if students change their gender identity. Last February, a judge allowed those policies to stand, but a new state law nullified the parental notification ban.
It turns out conflicts like these are occurring in communities nationwide and cost school districts billions of dollars per year in security, litigation and staff time, researchers with UC Riverside and UCLA reported in a recent study.
Read more at CalMatters.
