California school district forces teachers to out trans kids to their parents

A Southern California school district has approved a new policy requiring staff to inform parents if their child identifies as trans or gender-nonconforming, the second district to do so in the conservative-leaning Inland Empire east of Los Angeles.

The contentious proposal passed the school board in Murrieta Valley by a vote of 3-2, after a marathon meeting that drew cheers and jeers from the overflow crowd. The copycat policy is modeled on new notification guidelines recently adopted by nearby Chino Valley Unified School District.

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The policy requires school officials to notify parents and guardians in writing within three days of their child’s request to use a name, pronouns, or bathrooms that don’t match the sex they were assigned at birth.

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The approval comes despite advice from the board’s legal counsel warning the proposal may run afoul of state regulations and the California constitution.

As the meeting got underway, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond emailed a letter to the school board asking that the agenda item be withdrawn. Thurmond used the same tactic in June to address the Chino Valley proposal.

Supporters of the policy outing kids to their parents held signs reading “Protect Family Bonds.” Opponents wore rainbow and Pride-flag attire.

“As a parent myself, I can’t help but think how anti-family the current state guidance is,” said former high school teacher Jessica Tapia, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Parents are the greatest protectors.”

“People don’t choose to be transgender. They are transgender,” said Marinna De Brauwere, the mother of five Murietta Valley students. “School may be the one and only affirming space for these transgender youth.”

The Inland Empire, a conservative enclave in blue California, has been a flashpoint in attempts to impose anti-LGBTQ+ policies on local school districts, pitting religious conservatives and groups like Moms for Liberty against more liberal-minded parents and educators, as well as the state.

In neighboring Temecula Valley, the school board recently threw out state-approved LGBTQ+ history lessons, describing the materials as “pornographic” and “obscene.” Two board members called assassinated gay activist Harvey Milk a “pedophile.”

After a threat by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to fine the district $1.5 million, Temecula approved the lesson plans.

School board President Paul F. Diffley III introduced the parental notification policy in Murrieta Valley.

“As a parent, I would want to know about everything that concerns my child’s mental health and physical health while they’re at school. I don’t think there should be anything hidden because I have a fundamental right as a parent to bring up my child,” Diffley said. “If I can’t get all the information I need to have to have a reasonable discussion with my child, then the school is not doing its job.”

In a statement, the California Department of Education said, “It is critical that schools protect the well-being of students, including some of our most vulnerable students, transgender students.”

They have a “legally protected privacy interest under the California Constitution with respect to information about their gender identity.”  

Like Chino Valley, whose lead Murrieta followed on the new guidelines, the school district can expect a copycat response from California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), who recently announced a civil rights investigation over Chino Valley’s parental notification policy.