Latest news with #CVUSD
American Military News
21-04-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Video: 'HAIL SATAN': Pro-trans protesters chant at school board meeting
Protesters advocating for transgender male athletes to continue participating in girls' sports chanted 'Hail Satan' at a California board meeting last Thursday. According to Fox News, last week's Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) board meeting in San Bernardino County, California, included multiple speeches by protesters on opposite sides of the transgender sports issue. The outlet noted that police officials escorted one woman out of the board meeting who opposed the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls' sports and cited the Bible to support her position. On the other hand, protesters supporting the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls' sports used graphic language and chanted 'Hail Satan' during the school board meeting. In a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, by CVUSD School Board President Sonja Shaw, one protester can be heard saying, 'Y'all are all a bunch of transphobic pieces of sh-t. I hope y'all burn in hell. Hail Satan b-tches' as they walked out of the meeting. Another protester can be heard saying, 'Y'all are really afraid of authenticity and people being their own true selves. You're afraid of love. You're afraid of solidarity. Y'all are crazy… absolutely crazy.' Christina Salazar, a parent of one of the students who spoke at Thursday's meeting, told Fox News that her daughter's speech was interrupted by the protesters' chants. Salazar told the outlet, 'There was even a teacher from my daughter's school who was interrupting the meeting yelling and said 'Hail Satan' as he walked out and flipped everyone off.' READ MORE: Trump transgender military ban denied by judge On Friday, Shaw told Fox News that the school board passed 'several pro-parent and pro-female athlete resolutions that provide measures that protect girls sports and uphold the fundamental rights of parents to raise and guide their children without government interference or radical agendas.' 'In response, a small but loud group of outside agitators descended on our meeting, screaming, cussing and even chanting phrases like 'Hail Satan' all in front of families and children,' Shaw said. The school board president told Fox News that the protesters allegedly tried to have outside groups rally at the school board meeting to 'overwhelm' the school district. Shaw described the protester's movement as a 'complete embarrassment' that only succeeded in a 'handful of angry, disruptive individuals trying to bully a community that's working to protect kids and ensure that education remains focused on learning, not divisive ideologies.' The school board president also told Fox News that she received a 'violent and graphic death threat' prior to Thursday's meeting due to her position against transgender athletes competing in girls' sports. 'This is the level of hatred and evil we're up against,' Shaw said. 'But no threat, no mob and no political machine will scare me into silence.' WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT: Warning: graphic language. These are the people who want your kids. They can scream all they want, but we'll never surrender our parental rights or compromise our daughters' safety! Heck no! — Sonja Shaw (@realSonjaShaw) April 18, 2025
Fox News
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Pro-trans athlete protesters chant 'Hail Satan!' at girls during California school board meeting
A school board meeting in California Thursday night included protesters chanting "Hail Satan!" in support of transgender athletes in girls sports. The Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) board meeting in San Bernardino County featured opposing protesters delivering impassioned speeches on the issue, and many speeches cited biblical scripture. At one point, police escorted a woman who was there to oppose trans inclusion, citing the Bible. Footage from the meeting shows several protesters there to support trans inclusion, chanting "Hail Satan!" "Yes, public comments did include speakers saying, 'Hail Satan,'" the school district said in a statement. CVUSD school board President Sonja Shaw condemned the protesters's chants. "At last night's board meeting, we passed several pro-parent and pro-female athlete resolutions that provide measures that protect girls sports and uphold the fundamental rights of parents to raise and guide their children without government interference or radical agendas," Shaw told Fox News Digital. "In response, a small but loud group of outside agitators descended on our meeting, screaming, cussing and even chanting phrases like 'Hail Satan' all in front of families and children. "According to what was shared with me from their own social media posts, they tried to rally tons of outside groups to overwhelm our district, but what a complete embarrassment. That's all they got? A handful of angry, disruptive individuals trying to bully a community that's working to protect kids and ensure that education remains focused on learning, not divisive ideologies." Shaw added that she received a death threat via email in the days leading up to the meeting in response to her stance opposing trans inclusion in girls sports. "Just a few days before this meeting, I received a violent and graphic death threat in my email. This is the level of hatred and evil we're up against. But no threat, no mob and no political machine will scare me into silence," Shaw said. Multiple parents who attended the meeting told Fox News Digital what they witnessed. "What we witnessed was deeply unsettling — adults behaving in a sadistic and hateful way, all in the name of equality," said Christina Salazar, who's daughter Isabel's speech at the meeting was interrupted by the chants. "There was even a teacher from my daughter's school who was interrupting the meeting yelling and said 'Hail Satan' as he walked out and flipped everyone off." Fellow San Bernardino County mother Nichole Vicario claims some of the opposing protesters identify as "Satanists." "I also witnessed extreme and inappropriate behavior from the opposing side. Some individuals shouted "Hail Satan," identified themselves as Satanists and used vulgar, aggressive language throughout the meeting, even with children present," Vicario said. "Despite the chaos, the board remained composed and strong, clearly committed to protecting girls sports, not just for Chino Valley, but as a stand for girls across California and potentially the entire country." The state has seen multiple chaotic occurrences at school board meetings in recent months related to debates over trans athlete inclusion. During a Lucia Mar Unified School District (LMUSD) board meeting Wednesday, a high school junior track athlete at Arroyo Grande High School named Celeste Diest cried during a speech recounting her experience of having to change in front of a biological male trans athlete before practice while that athlete allegedly watched her undress. But her speech was interrupted when she was told to "wrap it up" by the board president. After her speech, the audience erupted in a roaring applause, and the board president began slamming her gavel down to try and temper the growing applause, but the cheers only got louder after that. In December, a Riverside Unified School District board meeting drew national attention and massive opposing protests outside the meeting. Multiple witnesses from the meeting previously told Fox News Digital pro-trans activists at the event were harassing the anti-trans protesters on the other side and disrupting a women's prayer group during a prayer circle prior to the meeting. The prayer group, Young Women for America (YWA)'s Inland Empire chapter in California, alleged pro-transgender activists showered them with insults. "Members of the pro-LGBTQ groups started heckling and harassing the people in line who were speaking in opposition of their values. Some of these adult protesters were even coming up to the young girls that were going to be speaking and were yelling at them close to their face," YWA Inland Empire Chapter President Tori Hitchcock alleged. A new bipartisan survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found the majority of California residents oppose biological male trans athletes competing in women's sports. That figure included more than 70% of the state's school parents. "Most Californians support requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching the sex they were assigned at birth," the poll stated. "Solid majorities of adults (65%) and likely voters (64%) support requiring that transgender athletes compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with. An overwhelming majority of public school parents (71%) support such a requirement." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California school board members praise Trump admin's probe into state allegedly hiding kids' 'gender identity'
Some California school board members are rejoicing after the U.S. Department of Education are looking into the state's effort to curb parental notification policies. "We warned [Gavin] Newsom," Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) Board President Sonja Shaw told Fox News Digital. "I am a mother and a school board president, and I have been screaming from every rooftop: parents have the undeniable right to know what's happening with their children, and we will not let Newsom and his bureaucrats cover it up." Shaw's school district passed parental notification policies, which required school officials to inform parents of their child identifying as transgender or looking to change their names or pronouns. This prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta in 2023 to sue the school district. Maine Universities Agree To Keep Transgender Athletes Out Of Women's Sports After Trump Admin Pauses Funding Other school districts in California followed CVUSD in passing parental notification policies, including the Murrieta Unified School District (MVUSD), Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD), Orange Unified School District, Anderson Union High School District, and Rocklin Unified School District. Read On The Fox News App In January 2024, Bonta warned school districts not to pass what he called "forced outing" policies. President Donald Trump is stepping in after the state of California pushed back against parental rights policies, school board members hope to be vindicated for their efforts. "What we are seeing happening in real time is our president vindicating the efforts of the previous local school boards in California, as the fight against wokeism continues," Dr. Joseph Komrosky, a school board trustee at TVUSD, said. The Department of Education on Thursday launched an investigation into the California Department of Education over alleged violations of the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA), citing California's new law AB 1955 that bars schools from so-called "forced outing" policies or disclosing a child's "gender identity" to their parents. FERPA ensures parents have the right to access their children's educational information, and the Trump administration says that includes interactions with school employees pertaining to gender identity and mental health. "Parents continue to have full, guaranteed access to their student's education records, as required by federal law," a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "If the U.S. Department of Education still had staff, this would be a quick investigation — all they would need to do is read the law the Governor signed." California School Board President Speaks Out After Receiving 'Death Threats' For Supporting Parents: 'Evil' Komrosky said the parental notification policies were to "empower the parents," and "protect the innocence of children by voting in our respective parental notification policies across the state." "Newsom and Bonta have consistently overstepped their jurisdiction by threatening the TVUSD school board in an attempt to control our policies for curriculum and parental notification. We will not back down as elected officials representing the voice of our community," TVUSD Board member Jen Wiersma said. California officials argued that AB 1955 strengthens existing protections against "forced outings" of students, which Bonta claims is "wrongfully and unconstitutionally discriminating against and violating the privacy rights of LGBTQ+ students" in his lawsuit against CVUSD. Shaw said Newsom and Bonta targeted them for implementing "common-sense" policies. "But we refused to back down," Shaw said. "Thanks to the relentless efforts of [Liberty Justice Center,] we fought back—and we won, even in California's courts. Here in Chino Valley, we still have a parental notification policy that they couldn't even get us to rescind, even after weaponizing every aspect to stop us." Shaw referred to LJC declaring victory for parents while representing CVUSD in court with the state of California. Although the court ruling forced CVUSD to revise their parental notification policy, administrators are still required to notify parents about changes to a child's school records. "We took our battle to the federal level by filing claims with the Office for Civil Rights, writing letters to the Department of Education, and alerting President Trump," Shaw said. "Newsom's state education agenda dismisses the voice of parents and undermines the local control we've fought to uphold. Chino Valley USD will continue to prioritize transparency and the rightful role of families in their children's education," Andres Cruz, a CVUSD board clerk, said. Click Here For The Fox News App MVUSD in November 2024 rescinded their parental notification policy in a 3-2 vote and said that they never implemented it. Board trustees Nick Pardue and Julie Vandegrift voted to keep the policy. "Gavin Newsom used state law to threaten local school districts like ours who tried to protect our parent's Constitutional rights," Pardue told Fox News Digital. "Now that our president has intervened on behalf of parents and local control, he has decided to defy federal law. He is supposed to support and defend the Constitution and obviously disregards that obligation."Original article source: California school board members praise Trump admin's probe into state allegedly hiding kids' 'gender identity'
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Coachella Valley Unified school board race results from Imperial County now in: What to know
The Imperial County Registrar of Voters released the final results of the Coachella Valley Unified School District school board race on Tuesday, confirming that all three incumbents won re-election. A special election was held on Tuesday, March 4, after about 2,400 ballots for Imperial County voters within the CVUSD boundaries inadvertently left out three contested trustee races in the November general election. The error led a Riverside County Superior Court judge to issue a temporary restraining order, preventing Riverside County from releasing vote counts for Trustee Areas 1, 2 and 4 until Imperial County voters had a chance to cast their ballots. CVUSD's district boundaries extend across both Imperial and Riverside counties and trustees are elected at large — allowing voters within these boundaries to cast ballots for all trustee areas, regardless of the specific trustee representing their geographical location. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters' final results were released on March 4. In Riverside County, 19,880 of the 32,850 issued ballots were cast, resulting in a 60.52% turnout. There were 2,389 registered voters in Imperial County, and 292 ballots were cast, resulting in a voter turnout of 12.22%, according to the results report available on the county's website. There were 246 votes cast by mail and 46 on Election Day. The Imperial County Board of Supervisors is set to consider accepting the election certification at their board meeting on March 25, according to an email from Linsey Dale, Imperial County Registrar of Voters. Here's a breakdown of the three trustee races, which includes the total for both Imperial and Riverside counties: Trinidad "Trini" Arredondo (11,082 votes) beat challenger Agustín Arreola (6,313 votes). In a call with The Desert Sun on Tuesday afternoon, Arredondo thanked the community for trusting him with his re-election and said he hopes to collaborate with stakeholders to continue improving the school district. "For the next four years, I really look forward to making sure that our district is on good financial solid ground and making sure that we have a strong budget so that we don't have continued layoffs — and (so) that we're able to bring back people as the year goes on," he said. In addition to collaborating with his colleagues to improve school facilities, Arredondo said he looks forward to establishing accessible academy pathways that provide students with a clear track and support for the education they wish to pursue after graduation. "I really want to focus on improving our graduation rate and making sure that our students have the opportunity to be successful in our district, and I want to encourage also our community to send the kids to our schools," he said, noting CVUSD's declining enrollment. "They choose our school district because our school district is a good school district." Valerie García and Joey Acuña Jr. also represent Trustee Area 1. Incumbent Jesus Gonzalez (9,599 votes) beat challenger Altrena Santillanes (7,751 votes). As of Tuesday evening, Gonzalez had yet to respond to The Desert Sun's request for comment. Silvia Paz also represents Thermal. More education news: When is spring break 2025 for Coachella Valley schools? Here are this year's dates More education news: CVUSD teachers' union president sues district, alleges discrimination against non-Latino employees More education news: Which University of California schools are College of the Desert students most enrolling in? Incumbent Jocelyn Vargas (9,732) beat challenger Adrian Rodriguez (7,013 votes). As of Tuesday evening, Vargas had yet to respond to The Desert Sun's request for comment. Thomas Tortez Jr. ran unopposed in the general election for the Trustee Area 3 seat, which covers Oasis and the Salton Sea. The former tribal chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians was sworn in as a board member by Superintendent Frances Esparza in December. The seat for Trustee Area 3 had had been vacant since Adonis Galarza-Toledo's resignation in late June 2024, with about five months remaining in his term. At its regular meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 20, the board will swear in the three incumbents, with the superintendent administering the oath. The seven-member board will then elect a president, vice president and clerk, each serving a one-year term. Currently, Joey Acuña Jr. is president, Jocelyn Vargas is vice president and Silvia Paz is clerk. Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Incumbents win all three Coachella Valley Unified special election races
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CVUSD teachers' union president sues district, alleges discrimination against non-Latino employees
The president of the teachers' union at Coachella Valley Unified School District is suing the school district, alleging retaliation and discrimination. Here's what you need to know. The complaint, which was filed on March 11 on behalf of Carissa Carrera, alleges retaliation for reporting racial discrimination against non-Latino employees and corruption within the district. She also claims she was falsely accused of misusing district funds for her son's mental health care, prompting an unfounded law enforcement investigation that resulted in a privacy violation and the unauthorized release of medical records. The complaint names the school district; Superintendent Frances Esparza; two board members, Jesus Gonzalez and Joey Acuña Jr.; Bea Gonzalez, CVUSD's director of expanded learning; the Riverside County Latino Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services and its executive director, Leonel Contreras; and 25 unnamed individuals. Carrera, who has worked at the district since 2004, has led the teachers' union as its president since 2017. Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, no relation to Jesus Gonzalez, recently honored Carissa Carrera the Woman of the Year for Assembly District 36 in recognition of her advocacy for educators, students, and the community. The complaint alleges that Carrera was retaliated against for reporting racial discrimination against non-Latino employees and corruption within the district. She claims the district has openly favored Latino candidates for jobs and promotions, while excluding or retaliating against non-Latino employees. Carrera also raised concerns about non-Latino employees being laid off at a higher rate than Latino employees, according to the lawsuit. Carrera was placed on paid administrative leave just days before the November general election, during which she and the union actively opposed Jesus Gonzalez's re-election. She had filed two complaints with the Fair Political Practices Commission against Gonzalez and Acuña, who was running for the California State Assembly, alleging financial conflicts of interest. More: Special election results: Incumbents lead Coachella Valley Unified school board races in unofficial results More: How much money is being raised by Coachella Valley Unified's school board candidates More: What voters should know about Coachella Valley Unified's special election in Imperial County "In retaliation against Ms. Carrera for her engagement in these protected activities, and due to Ms. Carrera's non-Latino racial identity, Defendants began in 2023 and 2024 began an increasingly hostile campaign of harassment, discrimination, microaggression, and intentional actions meant to hurt Ms. Carrera's reputation, career, and standing in the community," the complaint read. Days after Carrera filed her complaint with the FPPC, she said the school district placed her on leave on Oct. 25. The district later issued a press release stating that an employee was under investigation for allegedly misusing district funds, which the Riverside County Sheriff's Department later determined to be "unfounded." An incident report provided by CVTA in December detailed a deputy's investigation into Carrera, which began in October after the sheriff's department was contacted by a private investigator hired by the school district. The private investigator was looking into a "possible fraudulent incident" involving Carrera's use of services at the Riverside County Latino Commission, a contracted provider for the district, for her minor son, who was then a student at Desert Sands Unified School District. "As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff was harmed; she has been humiliated, suffered emotional pain and distress, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life and economic damages," the complaint read. CVUSD has not publicly responded to the lawsuit, and the district spokesperson has not immediately returned a request for comment. Carrera is requesting a jury trial and seeks compensatory damages to be determined at trial, along with exemplary damages against the defendants. Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: CVUSD teachers' union president sues district, alleges discrimination
