California Advances Bill That Would Fine School Boards That Remove Books Containing CRT, Gender Ideology

A California bill that would prohibit local school boards from removing books “from diverse perspectives” — which includes critical race theory themes and gender ideology — is one step closer to becoming law after it passed 5–2 in the Senate Education Committee last week.

Assembly Bill 1078, which was introduced and authored by Assemblymember Corey Jackson of Riverside, would fine school boards that remove books containing “inclusive and diverse perspectives” from lesson plans. If enacted, local school boards will be barred from excluding books due to themes of race, gender ideology, or sexual orientation. Removing books for any other reason would require a two-thirds supermajority of the respective school board.

Additionally, the bill would require audits of district libraries to determine whether local school boards are sufficiently committed to diversity. Districts found to be lacking could face funding penalties.

Jackson accused local school boards of removing books “not based on character but because of race, because of someone’s sexuality.”

“These book bans deny students their right to access a broad range of stories and perspectives and they create restrictions on teaching and learning, which impacts our educators and librarians and silences authors, most of whom [are] from marginalized communities,” Jackson said during a hearing.

“Our students of color and our LGBTQ+ students should not be threatened for their viewpoints, and they should not have education withheld from them,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who also spoke in favor of the bill.  “As a former school board member, I highly value local control. But local control does not give anyone the right to threaten, bully, or mistreat any of our students,” he went on to say.

The bill previously passed the state Assembly in May. On July 5, it passed in the Senate Education Committee and will now head to the Senate Appropriations Committee.