After fierce debate, the Chino Valley Unified School District voted in favor of a controversial policy Thursday night that requires teachers to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender.
Under the new rule, approved in a 4-1 vote, schools must tell parents if a student asks to use a new name, pronouns, or bathrooms that don’t match the sex on their birth certificate.
Hundreds of parents attended the heated meeting to voice their opinions on both sides of the issue. Supporters cited “parental rights,” saying schools shouldn’t withhold information from parents, while opponents warned that the policy infringed on students’ right to privacy and would erode trust between students and teachers.
California Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond was kicked out of the meeting after telling the board that the policy "may not only fall outside of privacy laws but may put our students at risk."
Outside of the meeting, Thurmond told reporters that the school board “should find a more balanced way to show their respect for private rights in a way that doesn’t trample on the safety and the rights of our students.”
The California Department of Education has previously instructed schools that disclosing a student’s transgender identity without their permission “may violate California’s antidiscrimination law by increasing the student’s vulnerability to harassment.”
In a letter to the school board, California Attorney General Rob Bonta also pointed out that courts have recognized gender identity as a “protected privacy right” under both the state and U.S. Constitutions.
“By allowing for the disclosure of a student’s gender identity without their consent, Chino Valley Unified School District’s suggested Parental Notification policy would strip them of their freedom, violate their autonomy, and potentially put them in a harmful situation,” Bonta said in a statement Thursday night.
Chino Valley is the latest of many school districts across the country requiring schools to inform parents of gender identity changes, with similar laws recently enacted in Indiana, North Dakota, Utah, and Iowa. Several states have also passed laws saying teachers don’t have to use a student’s name or pronouns if they don’t correspond to the sex on their birth certificate.
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