Signs are passed around inside the Kentucky Capitol Rotunda displaying opposition to bills lawmakers said would eradicate "critical race theory" from state schools. Jan. 12, 2022 At9i3021 Crt
Temecula, California – A California appeals court has ordered the Temecula Valley Unified School District to immediately pause enforcement of its ban on critical race theory (CRT), citing constitutional concerns and a chilling effect on educators.
The unanimous ruling, issued Monday by the 4th District Court of Appeal, temporarily blocks the district’s 2022 resolution banning CRT-related concepts until ongoing litigation is resolved. Authored by Judge Kathleen O’Leary, the opinion sharply criticized the resolution’s vague language and lack of clarity for teachers, finding it has created “confusion and fear” in classrooms.
“The resolution employs ambiguous language, lacks definitions, is unclear in scope, and contains no enforcement guidelines,” O’Leary wrote. “Teachers are left to self-censor and potentially overcorrect, depriving students of a fully informed education.”
The original CRT ban, passed in December 2022 by a conservative-majority school board, claimed the theory was a “divisive ideology” that “assigns moral fault to individuals solely on the basis of race.” The measure came amid attempts to reject a state-approved textbook that referenced gay rights leader Harvey Milk, whom the board president publicly labeled a “pedophile.”
Although the district does not teach CRT as a formal part of their curriculum, many educators say discussions around race, slavery, and civil rights naturally arise in subjects like history and literature. Teachers argued the ban forced them to avoid essential lessons, with one fourth-grade teacher saying she no longer knew how to answer questions about slavery.
Jennifer Scharf, a high school English teacher in the district, said the policy made it impossible to teach novels like Beloved by Toni Morrison. “I was unable to talk about racial oppression and its lasting impacts to comply with the district’s vague definition of CRT,” she wrote in the original complaint.
The court’s decision followed legal action from the Temecula Valley Educators Association, parents, and students who argued the ban stifled classroom discussion and left educators vulnerable to punishment without clear guidelines.
Despite the ruling, the district maintains it did nothing wrong. “Although we are disappointed with the court’s decision, we remain committed to defending the constitutionality of Temecula Valley Unified’s actions,” said district attorney Julianne Fleischer. “Critical race theory and its offshoots have no place in public institutions meant to serve all individuals equally.”
For now, the ban is suspended, though litigation continues. O’Leary noted that the board has not adopted a revised CRT policy and urged it to act “in good faith and follow the law.”
