The California Department of Education wants a judge to order Cajon Valley Unified School District to implement corrective measures after it found the district’s sexual-health curriculum discriminated against LGBTQ+ students.
The 11-page petition, filed in San Diego Superior Court on Wednesday, follows a state investigation last year that found that the district’s sexual health curriculum left out required information on LGBTQ+ and gender topics.
Since that finding, the district has not adopted a curriculum it said it would, the state says. The board of trustees voted 3-1 against adopting the updates at a Jan. 31 special meeting.
“CVUSD has, at all times through the date of this Petition, unlawfully refused and failed to carry out the corrective actions set forth in the CDE’s Investigation Report, dated July 8, 2024,” attorneys for the state department wrote.
The state is seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the district to comply with those corrective actions it ordered.
When the state released its investigative findings last year, district leaders told the San Diego Union-Tribune they felt that their curriculum met state requirements but would review it.
The state report found that the district was in violation of state law because its sexual-education curriculum did not affirmatively recognize that people have different sexual orientations, did not mention same-sex relationships when discussing examples of relationships and did not discuss the harm of gender stereotypes.
A spokesperson for the school district provided the Union-Tribune a copy of Miyashiro’s Feb. 21 response to a Feb. 18 corrective action letter from the state department’s direct investigations office, which included a timeline of events.
“The Cajon Valley School District Staff do plan to comply with all of the Corrective Actions as outlined by the CDEDI Office,” he wrote in a Feb. 21 letter. “We have run into obvious obstacles as detailed below and welcome both your guidance and feedback.”
Miyashiro shared an emailed statement on behalf of the district Friday that said it would not comment on pending litigation.
“However, we want to emphasize that, regardless of any disagreement about the content of curriculum, the Cajon Valley Union School District, its teacher and staff, strive every day to create a welcoming environment for every student, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, race, national origin, immigration status or any other characteristic protected by law,” the statement read. “All children and community members are welcome in CVUSD.”
The California Department of Education declined to comment.
But the state’s petition outlines the corrective actions it says the district was instructed to take.
By Jan. 1, 2025, the district was supposed to have provided evidence to the state agency’s Direct Investigations Office that its sex-ed curriculum materials affirmatively recognize people having different sexual orientations and include same-sex relationships as examples of relationships and couples; teach about gender, gender expression and gender identity; and explore harm from negative gender stereotypes.
By March 15, the district is supposed to give evidence that teachers were trained in curriculum that met those requirements, and by June 30, it should be able to show that actual classroom instruction satisfied them.
Back on Sept. 13, the district submitted the documentation for the first corrective action, which the state department deemed compliant. The state notified the district later that month, its attorneys say.
Then, last month, the department said it had been informed the district hadn’t adopted the new curriculum, and it informed the district it must demonstrate those materials were operative.
In late January, the district’s board voted not to adopt the comprehensive sexual health curriculum, and this month, the district notified the state of the vote.
The timeline the state outlined in its petition generally aligns with the one Miyashiro detailed in his letter. District officials did not immediately respond to questions about it.
The state is asking the judge to declare the district is in violation of state law and to issue a writ of mandate forcing it to comply. It’s also seeking attorneys’ fees.
This isn’t the first time Cajon Valley has found itself at odds with the state on LGBTQ+ rights. Last year, the board adopted a policy to require employees to inform parents of possible changes in their children’s gender identity — a decision that appeared to defy a new state law.
