On July 15th, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB1955, a law that prohibits school staff from disclosing changes in students’ gender identity to parents without the students’ consent. The following day, the Liberty Justice Center representing the Chino Valley School District and several parents filed a lawsuit against Governor Newsom in the Eastern District Court of California, demanding the suspension of the implementation of this new law.
AB1955, proposed by Democratic Assemblyman Chris Ward from the 78th district (San Diego area) and the California Transgender Legislative Core Group, is known as the “Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth Act” (SAFETY) and is set to take effect on January 1, 2025, unless the court intervenes.
Documents submitted by the Liberty Justice Center indicated that on May 22nd, California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond joined the Transgender Legislative Core Group as a co-author of the bill. The law prohibits schools from notifying parents when their children request to use a name or pronoun different from their birth gender or when they wish to access gender-segregated facilities or bathrooms without informing the parents.
Therefore, the Liberty Justice Center, on behalf of parents in the Chino Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County and several children attending public schools in California, filed the lawsuit seeking to halt the enforcement of AB1955, citing violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Senior Legal Counsel at the Center, Emily Rae, stated, “Most PK-12 minors are too young to drive, vote, or sign therapy agreements on their own, making life-changing decisions about their gender without parental knowledge, and AB1955 allows and would result in catastrophic consequences for those too young to fully understand and keep secrets.”
“School officials have no right to keep secrets from parents, who have the constitutional right to know what their children are doing at school,” Rae said. “Parents are the legal guardians of their children, not Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta, or Superintendent Thurmond.”
On the 17th, Governor Newsom’s spokesperson Izzy Gardon called the lawsuit “not serious” in an email, stating that AB1955 “upholds the relationship between children and parents” and expressing confidence that the state government would swiftly win the case.
Gardon wrote, “California law ensures that minors cannot legally change their name or gender without parental consent, and parents continue to have the federally protected right to full access to student education records.”
This is not the first legal battle involving the Chino Valley School District and the state government, according to Rae, who stated, “We will continue to challenge intrusive laws like AB1955 in court to defend parents’ rights and the well-being of children, without costing taxpayers.”
In August 2023, Attorney General Bonta initiated a lawsuit against the Chino Valley School District, seeking an immediate halt to the district’s gender identity disclosure policy. The district’s resolution required schools to notify parents when students used a different gender or pronoun than their birth certificate or official records, or when they used different gender facilities and participated in gender-specific activities.
Bonta stated in the lawsuit, “Every student has the right to learn and grow in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity, regardless of their gender identity.” However, the Chino Valley School District’s policy was deemed “erroneous and unconstitutional discrimination and infringement on the privacy rights of transgender students, erroneously jeopardizing the mental and physical health of transgender students lacking inclusive environments in the classroom and at home,” with a commitment to “never cease fighting for the civil rights of transgender students.”
Following the Chino Valley School District, several other districts in California implemented similar parent notification policies, believing that parents have the right to be informed. After a court order, the Chino Valley School District revised its policy to notify parents when official records change for students without mentioning gender changes.
The new law AB1955 includes provisions that prohibit school districts, boards, or institutions from promulgating or enforcing any policy or regulation that discloses students’ gender identities. Any policy or regulation that is inconsistent with the law shall be deemed invalid. It also requires the Education Department to develop/update resources for grades 7-12 to support transgender students, groups, families, and staff.
Assemblyman Ward remarked, “Every transgender youth has the right to make decisions for themselves about their gender and identity. When young people have the support of their parents and feel safe to share their true selves at home, they thrive; however, forcing them to disclose before they are ready might be harmful.”
On the day following the signing of AB1955, Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, stated on social media, “This is the last straw. Due to this law and many previous ones attacking families and businesses, SpaceX has decided to move its headquarters from Hawthorne, California to Boca Chica, Texas.”
The California Family Council also opposes AB1955, arguing that it “marginalizes parents, prevents parents from obtaining critical information about their children, and parents should be informed partners in addressing gender issues.” The new law “will put educators in a difficult position, forcing them to withhold information from parents, damaging trust and communication. Educators should collaborate with parents to create a positive atmosphere for students,” and it “will lead to litigation against school districts and teachers, where everyone in the school knows, but parents remain unaware.”