Inside one city’s battle over textbooks, teaching and Harvey Milk: ‘It can happen anywhere’

In Temecula, California, a vicious school board fight over critical race theory and references to the gay rights icon has split residents

The small southern California city of Temecula made headlines across the US when its school board banned critical race theory and attempted to purge elementary school textbooks that reference gay rights icon Harvey Milk.

The vicious fight over curricula in Temecula is one of several playing out in cities across the country, as conservatives seek to reshape how racism, gender and history are taught in American schools. Now, it may also have implications for schools across California. On Wednesday, a group of parents, students, teachers and a union sued the Temecula valley school district, alleging the critical race theory ban violates California law, the right to due process and the right to be free from discrimination. If the court rules in their favor, lawyers on the case say it will set a new precedent for the right to fact-based education in California public schools.