A nearby school district that has a rule that parents need to be told when a student’s name or pronoun changes is suing California to overturn its ban on “forced outings” of trans and non-binary students in schools.
Since July 2023, several school boards in California have passed laws that require teachers to tell parents if their child comes out as transgender or changes their name or pronouns to something that doesn’t match the sex they were given at birth. One of these school districts that has made this kind of rule is the Chino Valley Unified School District.
Lawyer General Rob Bonta of California sued the Chino Valley School District in August 2023 for following that policy.
“No matter what gender they are, every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that supports safety, privacy, and acceptance,” Bonta said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
He said, “The forced outing policy wrongfully endangers the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of non-conforming students who lack an accepting environment in the classroom and at home.”
LGBTQ rights activists say these rules can put kids in danger because they might not have a safe, loving home where they can talk to someone.
There was a heated debate last year about the forced disclosure policy, and Sonja Shaw, the head of the school board, said that transgender and gender nonbinary people needed “non-affirming” parents to “get better.”
Because they are not breaking the law, Shaw told the Associated Press that the board “will stand our ground and protect our children with all that we can.” Parents have a basic right to decide how to raise their kids. For good.”
Since then, lawmakers in California have moved to ban family notification policies in schools, saying they are worried about the mental health of LGBTQ youth. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1955, also known as the Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act, into law to handle these issues.
That law is being fought in court by Chino Valley Unified School District and some parents in the school district in a case that was filed Tuesday.
“These parental notification policies often address not only gender transition but also a myriad of other issues that parents would want or need to know about their child’s education and development,” says a complaint from Chino Valley Unified School District against California’s ban on these policies. “For example, if a student is injured, bullied, or exhibits suicidal behavior at school, but does not want their parents to know, a school will notify the parents.”
Elon Musk, who owns both X and SpaceX, has said that he will move his business out of California because of the law against forced exposure.
Musk wrote on his social media site, “This is the last straw.” “Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.”
Supporters of LGBTQ rights were happy that the law was passed.
“Every LGBTQ+ young person has the right to make their own deeply personal decision about when and to whom to come out,” the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus said in a fact sheet about the forced disclosure ban. “A lot of parents and families get this and want their kids to be able to come out to them in their way. Unfortunately, not all teens and young adults feel safe or welcome being themselves at home. For those kids, schools can be a very important place to get help.
It’s the latest legal fight over transgender teens and young adults in schools. LGBTQ issues like pronoun and name changes, using gendered facilities, and sports are still big issues in both local and national politics.