California’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta, has sued the Chino Valley Unified School District over a newly implemented policy. The policy mandates schools to inform parents if their child alters their gender identification or pronouns. Bonta termed the policy as a “forced outing” of transgender students, infringing upon their civil rights. He is seeking a court order to immediately halt the policy from being implemented.
Chino Valley Unified, situated approximately 35 miles east of Los Angeles, adopted the policy following a shift in leadership on the school board. The policy stipulates that schools must notify parents in writing within three days if district employees become aware that a student is requesting to be identified or treated as a different gender than that listed on official records.
However, Chino Valley Board President Sonja Shaw argues that parents have a constitutional right in the upbringing of their children and that they are not breaking the law. The policy is becoming a focal point of contentious debates in several Southern California communities.
Bonta’s lawsuit argues that Chino Valley’s policy discriminates against transgender and gender non-conforming students, violating the state constitution’s requirement of equal protection for all students. Further, it is claimed to violate students’ privacy rights.
Critics of such policies worry that they could endanger students who live in non-accepting or abusive households. Jody Herman, a public policy scholar at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, contends that obliging school staff to notify parents if their child identifies as trans is taking a “gamble” with someone’s life.