The California Department of Education is asking a judge to force Cajon Valley Union School District to follow state laws and recognize LGBTQ+ in the district’s sex education curricula.
The Department of Education filed the writ of mandate on February 26 against the East San Diego County school district, nearly a year after a state investigation deemed the district’s current sexual health curriculum discriminatory towards LGBTQ+ students.
According to the writ of mandate, Cajon Valley’s curriculum “did not contain information recognizing that people have different sexual orientations, information regarding same-sex relationships, or information about gender, gender expression, and gender identity, including the harm of negative gender stereotypes, as required by California law.”
The state’s filing added, “A review of ‘The Cajon Valley Union School District 7th and 8th Grade Sexual Health Curriculum’ shows that the curriculum did not contain activities and discussion opportunities recognizing people’s different sexual orientations, nor visual representation or discussion opportunities regarding same-sex relationships.”
The state launched its investigation into Cajon Valley following a citizen complaint about the board’s refusal to include LGBTQ+ in its curriculum.