A California school board has rescinded a policy to ensure parents are notified if students move to shift genders, aligning with state law that blocks parental notification.
The 3-2 vote by the Murrieta Valley Unified School District’s board of education last month to end the policy marked the third time the issue came before the board, with previous votes upholding the “controversial” policy, the East Bay Times reports.
The “controversial” policy adopted in August 2023 required Murrietta Valley schools to notify parents within three days if a student identified as transgender, requested to use “gender-affirming” school facilities, or attempted to change their name or pronouns.
The policy directly conflicts with legislation signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July that prohibits school policies that require educators to notify parents about a change in name or pronouns.
The law, the first of its kind in the nation, upended policies in more than a dozen school districts, sparking an ongoing lawsuit led by the Chino Valley Unified School District. The law also served as the impetus for Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and father of a transgender child, to relocate the headquarters for X and Space X to Texas, The New York Times reports.
“I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children,” read an X post from Musk, who has described the transgender policies as symptom of a “woke mind virus.”
Murieta Valley officials said at an October meeting they had not implemented the policy since it’s approval last year, and another 3-2 vote in April to keep it. Board President Paul Diffley and member Julie Vandegrift initially created the rule, and voted with trustee Nick Pardue in April, but Diffley shifted his vote last month to rescind, according to EBT.
“I am a firm believer and I believe in the Constitution,” Pardue said last month. “I believe these parents’ rights will hold up in court.”
The move to eliminate the policy follows threats from California education officials that started even before the state’s ban on parental notifications took effect.
In April, the California Board of Education demanded Murrieta Valley end the policy, arguing it discriminates against transgender youth.
“California has stated an intent to allow all persons in public schools to be free of discrimination based on characteristics enumerated in California law. Among other such protected characteristics, California expressly prohibits discrimination by public education agencies on the basis of gender, gender identity, gender express and sexual orientation,” according to an CDE investigation report cited by My Valley News.
“The CDE finds the District’s policy … on its face singles out and is directed exclusively toward one group of students based on that group’s legally protected characteristics of identifying with or expressing a gender other than that identified at birth. And the application of that policy adversely impacts those students,” a CDE April letter to Murietta Valley officials read. “Finally, (the policy) does not expressly or implicitly provide any educational or school administrative purpose justifying either form of discrimination.”
In September, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs granted an injunction that prevents Chino Valley from informing parents about student gender transitions at school.
That decision, however, did not block a newer Chino Valley policy that requires parental notification for any change to a student’s official records.
While California Attorney General Bob Bonta hailed the decision as a “win for transgender and gender-nonconforming students across the state,” CVUSD Board President Sonja Shaw set the record straight, Advocate reports.
“We are disappointed with parts of the ruling and plan to appeal, but Attorney General Bonta is attempting to gaslight the public about its true impact,” Shaw posted to X.
The California law to block parental notification of student gender transitions officially takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
