School Boards Rebel Against California AG’s Gender Ideology Guidance

• School boards across California are instituting parental notification policies, which require notification if a child believes they are a different sex than the one they were born as, despite the attorney general’s suggestions that the policies might violate the law, according to news reports. 
• After Chino Valley Unified School District passed a parental notification in July and was blocked by a judge in September, at least three school districts have defied Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta and instituted similar policies. 
• “People are telling Bonta, basically, screw you. We’re not afraid of you,” Erin Friday, lawyer, mother and parental rights activist, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Multiple school boards in California are openly defying the attorney general’s gender ideology guidance and passing parental notification policies, which require notification if a child believes they are a different sex than the one they were born as, according to news reports.

Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) passed a policy in July to notify parents when their child believes they are a sex different than their sex at birth, and Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued to block the policy in August, which a judge did on Sept. 6 as the lawsuit makes its way through the courts. Since then, at least three more school districts have openly defied Bonta’s admonishments and instituted similar parental notification policies.

“People are telling Bonta, basically, screw you. We’re not afraid of you,” Erin Friday, lawyer, mother and parental rights activist, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District (DCJESD), Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD) and Orange Unified School District (OUSD) all passed similar parental gender notification policies after the lawsuit against CVUSD and the blocking of its policy.

“We’re going to protect parents’ rights and children,” Friday continued.

Bonta has criticized these parental notification policies and called them “forced outing” in a press release. He said these policies might violate California’s constitution and subject students to “discriminatory harassment.”

“Attorney General Bonta urges school districts in California to take note and prioritize the well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming students that they are charged to protect as he continues monitoring school districts considering similar policies statewide,” a spokesperson for Bonta told the DCNF.

Friday said school districts are being more thoughtful about how they craft their policies now but that they’re still pushing ahead. She said she tells them either way, their policies are going to ruffle some feathers.

“They’re worried, but what I tell them is the parents are going to sue you, or the teachers are going to sue you,” Friday said.

RUSD implemented its parental notification on Sept. 7, one day after CVUSD’s policy was blocked by the courts. Following RUSD implementing its gender notification policy, Bonta put out a press release saying that Rocklin’s policy of telling parents if their child believes they are a different sex than the one they were born as may “endanger” children’s “civil rights.”

“I have said it before, and I will say it again: We will not tolerate any policy that perpetuates discrimination, harassment, or exclusion within our educational institutions,” Bonta said in the press release.

Another school district, OUSD, implemented its policy on Sep. 7 as well. The school board passed the policy in a 4-1 vote after hours of comments from the public.

“Rocklin Unified stood up for students, parents, and families in passing a parental notification policy that is not only well supported in the Rocklin community but across California,” Jonathan Zachreson, a parental rights activist who spoke in favor of the policy at the meeting, told the DCNF.

DCJESD passed a parental notification policy on Sep. 14 unanimously, according to KCRA 3 News.

DCJESD Board President Scott Otsuka is aware of the CVUSD lawsuit and is confident his policy best serves parents and is in line with the letter of the law, he told the DCNF.

“We will always place a high priority on coming along side our families to support our students, this policy simply codifies that. We are aware of the CA Attorney General’s lawsuit and will closely monitor as it makes its way through the system. Developed with legal counsel, our recent policy update complies with both federal law and those of the State of California,” Otsuka told the DCNF.

“Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District’s decision to adopt a forced outing policy poses a serious threat to the emotional, psychological, and physical safety and privacy of transgender and gender-nonconforming students,” Bonta saidin a press release.

Other school districts in California previously passed similar policies.

The Murrieta Valley School Board approved a policy to tell parents if their child believes they are a sex other than the one they were born as Aug. 10. Anderson Union High School District instituted a similar policy on Aug. 22, which Bonta called “deeply troubling,” according to a press release. Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) approved a gender notification policy Aug. 23, according to The Mercury News.

Some school districts in California have also banned the flying of the Pride flag. TVUSD voted Sept. 12 to ban all flags other than the U.S. and California flag. Sunol Glen Unified School Board voted Sep. 12 to institute a similar policy after parents showed concern over “special interest flags being flown.”

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, OUSD and RUSD did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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