Leroy N. Soetoro
2023-09-04 22:21:15 UTC
https://apnews.com/article/california-sues-chino-valley-parental-
notification-transgender-students-03fd6e74c62054d9bb4ba85ee92e850d
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) Californias attorney general sued a Southern
California school district Monday over its new policy requiring schools to
notify parents if their children change their gender identification or
pronouns, the latest blow in an intensifying battle between a handful of
school districts and the state about the rights of trans kids and their
parents.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said policies like the one adopted by Chino
Valley Unified School District will forcibly out transgender students and
threaten their well-being. But the districts board president and
supporters say parents have a right to know the decisions their children
are making in schools.
Bonta is seeking a court order to immediately block the policy in Chino
Valley, a district about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Los Angeles,
which requires schools to notify parents within three days if employees
become aware a student is asking to be treated as a gender other than the
one listed on official records.
For far too many transgender children and gender nonconforming youth,
school serves as their only safe haven a place away from home where they
can find validation, safety, privacy. We have to protect that, he said.
He argued that the policy discriminates against the students and violates
the state constitutions requirement of equal protection for all.
A couple of nearby districts have adopted similar policies and at least
one more is considering doing so. The moves have stoked fierce debates at
local school board meetings amid an intense national conversation over
transgender rights as other states have sought to impose bans on gender-
affirming care, bar trans athletes from girls and womens sports, and
require schools to out trans and nonbinary students to their parents.
Last week, activists who want parental notification policies and who
oppose the teaching of certain LGBTQ material in schools demonstrated in
Los Angeles.
In California, the proposals are coming from communities that have elected
more conservative school board members since the COVID-19 pandemic,
putting them increasingly at odds with Gov. Gavin Newsom and fellow
Democrats who dominate the states political leadership.
Among them is Chino Valley Unified President Sonja Shaw, who said the
lawsuit was no surprise as state officials have repeatedly taken steps to
shut parents out of their childrens lives.
We will stand our ground and protect our children with all we can because
we are not breaking the law, Shaw said in a text message. Parents have a
constitutional right in the upbringing of their children. Period.
Chino Valley spokesperson Andi Johnston said the districts policy
protects transgender students by requiring schools to notify social
services or law enforcement if the student believes they are in danger. In
such circumstances, staff wouldnt notify parents until the appropriate
agencies had investigated the concern, Johnston said.
The notification policies arent the only battle between local schools and
California officials over LGBTQ policies. Earlier this year, Newsom
threatened to fine the Temecula Valley Unified School District after it
rejected an elementary school social studies curriculum that included
books mentioning politician and gay rights advocate Harvey Milk. The
district later reversed course.
State lawmakers are considering legislation aimed at ensuring school
curricula reflects gender, racial and cultural diversity. The bill would
require the California Department of Education to release guidance on
managing in-school conversations about race and gender.
Earlier this month, Newsom said state lawmakers also were drafting
legislation to address policies to notify parents if their child changed
their gender identity. But Assemblymember Chris Ward representing San
Diego, vice chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, said
legislation wont be introduced this year while the complexities of the
issue are still being studied.
The parental notification policies began cropping up after Republican
state lawmaker Bill Essayli proposed a statewide bill on the issue that
never received a hearing in Sacramento. He then started working with local
school board members like Shaw and the California Family Council to draft
the notification policy that was voted on in Chino Valley.
Temecula Valley and Murrieta Valley have adopted similar policies, and
Orange Unified is debating it.
A group of about 30 parents and proponents of parental notification
policies gathered Monday afternoon outside the Capitol to announce a
campaign for proposed ballot initiatives to present to voters in November
2024.
The measures would require schools to notify parents if their child
identifies as transgender, ban trans students from participating in girls
sports and ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors. California law
requires children to get parental consent before undergoing gender-
affirming surgeries.
Bontas office has about two months to write summaries for the measures
before the group can start collecting signatures needed to place them on
the ballot.
Some critics of the policies worry about their impact on trans students
who live in households that are not accepting or abusive. But Essayli said
the state shouldnt assume parents are a danger to their children and
noted that teachers are required to report abuse if they become aware of
it.
Parents must be involved in this extremely delicate and complicated time
in a childs life, Essayli said. It is way too dangerous and reckless to
exclude parents.
Jody Herman, a public policy scholar at the University of California Los
Angeles School of Law, said requiring school staff to notify parents if
their child identifies as trans is taking a gamble with someones life.
Parents are not uniformly accepting, Herman said.
Teachers are also caught in the debate. Greg Goodlander, a high school
French teacher and president of the Orange Unified Educators Association,
said the proposal has been a distraction and theres no evidence it would
enhance student learning.
Our teachers are not trained on how to handle this situation, and this
has not been negotiated with the association in our contract, Goodlander
said. ___ Austin reported from Sacramento. Austin is a corps member for
the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report
for America is a nonprofit national service program that places
journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow
Austin @sophieadanna
--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
notification-transgender-students-03fd6e74c62054d9bb4ba85ee92e850d
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) Californias attorney general sued a Southern
California school district Monday over its new policy requiring schools to
notify parents if their children change their gender identification or
pronouns, the latest blow in an intensifying battle between a handful of
school districts and the state about the rights of trans kids and their
parents.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said policies like the one adopted by Chino
Valley Unified School District will forcibly out transgender students and
threaten their well-being. But the districts board president and
supporters say parents have a right to know the decisions their children
are making in schools.
Bonta is seeking a court order to immediately block the policy in Chino
Valley, a district about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Los Angeles,
which requires schools to notify parents within three days if employees
become aware a student is asking to be treated as a gender other than the
one listed on official records.
For far too many transgender children and gender nonconforming youth,
school serves as their only safe haven a place away from home where they
can find validation, safety, privacy. We have to protect that, he said.
He argued that the policy discriminates against the students and violates
the state constitutions requirement of equal protection for all.
A couple of nearby districts have adopted similar policies and at least
one more is considering doing so. The moves have stoked fierce debates at
local school board meetings amid an intense national conversation over
transgender rights as other states have sought to impose bans on gender-
affirming care, bar trans athletes from girls and womens sports, and
require schools to out trans and nonbinary students to their parents.
Last week, activists who want parental notification policies and who
oppose the teaching of certain LGBTQ material in schools demonstrated in
Los Angeles.
In California, the proposals are coming from communities that have elected
more conservative school board members since the COVID-19 pandemic,
putting them increasingly at odds with Gov. Gavin Newsom and fellow
Democrats who dominate the states political leadership.
Among them is Chino Valley Unified President Sonja Shaw, who said the
lawsuit was no surprise as state officials have repeatedly taken steps to
shut parents out of their childrens lives.
We will stand our ground and protect our children with all we can because
we are not breaking the law, Shaw said in a text message. Parents have a
constitutional right in the upbringing of their children. Period.
Chino Valley spokesperson Andi Johnston said the districts policy
protects transgender students by requiring schools to notify social
services or law enforcement if the student believes they are in danger. In
such circumstances, staff wouldnt notify parents until the appropriate
agencies had investigated the concern, Johnston said.
The notification policies arent the only battle between local schools and
California officials over LGBTQ policies. Earlier this year, Newsom
threatened to fine the Temecula Valley Unified School District after it
rejected an elementary school social studies curriculum that included
books mentioning politician and gay rights advocate Harvey Milk. The
district later reversed course.
State lawmakers are considering legislation aimed at ensuring school
curricula reflects gender, racial and cultural diversity. The bill would
require the California Department of Education to release guidance on
managing in-school conversations about race and gender.
Earlier this month, Newsom said state lawmakers also were drafting
legislation to address policies to notify parents if their child changed
their gender identity. But Assemblymember Chris Ward representing San
Diego, vice chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, said
legislation wont be introduced this year while the complexities of the
issue are still being studied.
The parental notification policies began cropping up after Republican
state lawmaker Bill Essayli proposed a statewide bill on the issue that
never received a hearing in Sacramento. He then started working with local
school board members like Shaw and the California Family Council to draft
the notification policy that was voted on in Chino Valley.
Temecula Valley and Murrieta Valley have adopted similar policies, and
Orange Unified is debating it.
A group of about 30 parents and proponents of parental notification
policies gathered Monday afternoon outside the Capitol to announce a
campaign for proposed ballot initiatives to present to voters in November
2024.
The measures would require schools to notify parents if their child
identifies as transgender, ban trans students from participating in girls
sports and ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors. California law
requires children to get parental consent before undergoing gender-
affirming surgeries.
Bontas office has about two months to write summaries for the measures
before the group can start collecting signatures needed to place them on
the ballot.
Some critics of the policies worry about their impact on trans students
who live in households that are not accepting or abusive. But Essayli said
the state shouldnt assume parents are a danger to their children and
noted that teachers are required to report abuse if they become aware of
it.
Parents must be involved in this extremely delicate and complicated time
in a childs life, Essayli said. It is way too dangerous and reckless to
exclude parents.
Jody Herman, a public policy scholar at the University of California Los
Angeles School of Law, said requiring school staff to notify parents if
their child identifies as trans is taking a gamble with someones life.
Parents are not uniformly accepting, Herman said.
Teachers are also caught in the debate. Greg Goodlander, a high school
French teacher and president of the Orange Unified Educators Association,
said the proposal has been a distraction and theres no evidence it would
enhance student learning.
Our teachers are not trained on how to handle this situation, and this
has not been negotiated with the association in our contract, Goodlander
said. ___ Austin reported from Sacramento. Austin is a corps member for
the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report
for America is a nonprofit national service program that places
journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow
Austin @sophieadanna
--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.