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CADOJ sues school district over transgender student notification policy

Rating: Transneutral, KCRA Sacramento, August 28, 2023 (PDF archive) (HTML archive) (Take Action)


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CADOJ sues school district over transgender student notification policy

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.

| PREVIOUS COVERAGE | California investigates school district’s parental notification policy on children’s gender identity

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.” 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 healthcare 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 effort is now on hold, as lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom work together on the issue.

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.

| PREVIOUS COVERAGE | California investigates school district’s parental notification policy on children’s gender identity

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.”

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 healthcare 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 effort is now on hold, as lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom work together on the issue.


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