CALIFORNIA, USA — Security escorted state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond off the floor of a local school board meeting Thursday night after speaking out against a new policy that would require schools to inform parents if their child is transitioning.
Tony Thurmond tried to speak for longer than the his time allowed at the Chino Valley Unified School District and he was quickly shut down. This is just the latest in the clash between the state and local school districts.
“I asked you to consider this, that the policy that you consider tonight, not only may fall outside of the laws that respect privacy and safety for our students, but may put our students at risk because they may not be in homes where they can be safe,” said Thurmond.
But he is cut off after one minute, the time allotted to everyone in the audience. He walked off the floor, but School Board President Sonja Shaw followed up.
“I appreciate you being here tremendously, but here's the problem. We're here because of people like you. You're in Sacramento, proposing things that pervert children," accused Shaw.
So he walked back to the podium and asked to speak again.
"This is not your meeting," said Shaw. "You may have a seat because if I did that to you in Sacramento, you would not accept it. Please sit. You're not going to blackmail us."
Two security guards then walk up to Thurmond, then two more, and escort him away.
“Mr. Thurmond was granted more respect and decorum than I ever have been by the super majority Democrats in Sacramento,” said Assemblymember Bill Essayli.
Republican Legislature Essayli spoke right after Thurmond. He introduced a bill to do what the school district did but on a statewide level.
“They would not even hear my bill because they said it was too hateful without even having a conversation,” said Essayli.
Dozens of speakers later, the board passed the policy 4 to 1.
Just last week, Newsom and Thurmond intervened in another school district that voted not to include supplemental material because it included the name of a gay rights activist. The state went ahead and purchased the material for the students anyway.