California DOJ sues school district over transgender student notification policy
By Ashley Zavala
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SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced his office filed a lawsuit against a Southern California school district for its new policy that requires parents to be notified if their child is transgender.
The Chino Valley Unified School District Board approved the policy in July, despite pleas from the State’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and LGBTQ+ groups who said the policy would be harmful to transgender students. The policy specifically requires parents to be notified if their child identifies with a gender that is not on their birth certificate or official records.
Bonta said Monday the policy violates the California Constitution and the state’s civil rights laws by discriminating against students based on their gender and urged the San Bernardino County Superior Court to immediately block the policy.
“Every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity – regardless of their gender identity,” Bonta said in a statement. “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. Our message to Chino Valley Unified and all school districts in California is loud and clear: We will never stop fighting for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ students.”
Other school districts, Murrieta Valley Unified and Orange Unified, recently approved a similar measure. Bonta said other districts were not specifically included in the legal action, but that would be impacted by the result of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit comes hours before conservative lawmakers and parent groups were set to unveil a ballot initiative that implements parental notification policies statewide, bans students from participating in a sport if their gender at birth does not align with the rest of the team and prohibits transgender health care for children.
Assemblymember Bill Essayli, R-Riverside, proposed a statewide parental notification policy that was blocked earlier this year. In response to news of the lawsuit, he posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter:
“You read that correctly. The CA Attorney General suing to stop schools from giving information to parents. He will lose both in the court of law and public opinion.”
Democratic lawmakers this week were set to unveil a proposal to confront conservative school districts that implement policies similar to Chino Valley USD’s. Officials said that announcement is now on hold as lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom work together on the issue.
“Recognizing the nuance and complexity of this work, we are continuing to refine our legislative approach in this two-year session, including working with the governor and key stakeholders, to ensure the most comprehensive and responsible legislation is proposed,” said Assembly member Chris Ward D, San Diego. “Our LGBTQ Caucus is fully committed to assuring that every student feels safe and supported in their school environment and that teachers aren’t forced into policing and outing students. We know that lives and careers are at stake here and will be in a stronger position soon for the hard work ahead.”
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