California schools would be banned from telling parents about their children’s gender transition under a bill headed to the desk of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Assembly Bill 1955 would prohibit school staffers and volunteers from informing parents about their child’s “sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression” without the student’s consent, seeking to thwart parental notification policies passed by local school boards.
Democrats argued that the bill, which passed on a party-line vote of 61-16, was needed to foil the “forced outing” policies adopted by at least 10 school districts, while conservatives ripped the legislation as the “parent secrecy rule.”
“Parents have the right to know significant information about their child’s life, including matters related to their well-being and identity,” Republican state Assemblyman Bill Essayli said during the Friday floor debate. “This bill forces teachers to lie to parents, eroding trust and transparency within families.”
Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward, the bill’s sponsor, countered that “it’s not the job of teachers to be the gender police.”
“They want to teach, and they want to be able to provide a safe and supportive environment. And when they do, students will thrive,” Mr. Ward said. “Nothing in this bill gets involved in the parent-child relationship.”
Mr. Newsom has not said whether he will sign the bill, although he has typically supported pro-LGBTQ legislation. He signed legislation two years ago making California the first sanctuary state for transgender youth seeking gender-transition drugs and surgeries.
Last year, however, he vetoed a bill requiring courts to consider parental support for their children’s gender transition in custody cases, citing concerns about the executive and legislative branches dictating such standards.
Another factor: Mr. Newsom is on the short list of Democrats seen as a possible replacement for President Biden if he drops out of the 2024 presidential race, and the pro-LGBTQ policies popular in California may be less so nationally.
A 2023 CRC Research poll conducted for Parents Defending Education found that 71% of registered voters “support legislation requiring schools to tell parents if their child wants to change their gender identity at school.”
The bill comes amid a legal battle over policies adopted by the Chino Valley Unified School District and others requiring schools to inform parents when their children request a name or gender change on their school records.
The local policies contradict a state Department of Education directive saying that schools “must consult with a transgender student” before informing anyone of the student’s transgender status, including the parents.
Those praising the bill’s passage included Equality California, which said that the legislation “will strengthen protections for LGBTQ+ youth against forced outings policies.”
Assemblymember Evan Low, a member of the LGBTQ Caucus, recalled that when he was young, “my mother told me she would disown me if I was gay. This bill ensures that children can come out to their parents on their own terms when they feel safe and ready.”
The California Family Council pointed out that “no school district has ever proposed a policy requiring teachers to tell parents if a child is identifying as gay.”
“The parent notification policies passed by ten California school districts only required notification after a student had asked teachers or coaches to publicly socially transition them to a new gender difference from the one listed on their official records,” said the council, which opposes the bill.
The bill’s foes have another card to play, this one in court.
Attorneys for the Thomas More Society asked a federal judge last month to allow additional parties, including the Lakeside Union School District, to join a lawsuit filed by two teachers against the Escondido Union School District’s policy against parental notification.
In September, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled in favor of the two teachers, saying students adopting new names, genders and pronouns “can hardly be said to have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
The California Family Council said that if the judge approves the class-action request, every school in California would be required “to eliminate their secrecy policies and prevent AB 1955 from being enforced if Governor Newsom decides to sign it into law.”
“In short, any policy which directs teachers to lie, deceive or hide information from parents about students’ gender identities and mental health struggles, termed a ‘Parental Exclusion Policy,’ would no longer be legal,” the council said.
Court fights over the policies are playing out in the Chino, Escondido, Rocklin and Temecula school districts.
Eight states, all Republican-led, have passed laws in favor of parental notification regarding a student’s gender transition, according to the Movement Advancement Project map.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.