A bill introduced in the California Legislature on Wednesday would unilaterally end parental notification policies and protect embattled teachers as lawsuits filed in courts across the state over the privacy of students’ gender identities.
Assemblyman Christopher M. Ward (D-San Diego) is introducing legislation that would protect teachers from “any retaliation” for supporting the rights of transgender students and prohibit schools from enacting policies that would require “mandatory disclosure to families” of teenagers’ gender decisions.
The bill is the latest attempt by Democrats to rein in Republican-backed school board policies, including those that seek to notify parents when their children change their names or pronouns, request access to facilities or participate in gender-nonconforming programs on official records.
Conservatives across the country trumpet such initiatives in the name of parental rights. LGBTQ+ advocates call the policies an attack on trans children because they don’t feel safe expressing themselves at home.
Ward called the measures a “forced out” policy and said the new legislation aims to reaffirm and clarify California’s position on the issue and will provide guidance to families of LGBTQ+ students to help them navigate sensitive topics.
“There is nothing that infringes on the parent-child relationship. Nothing today and nothing will happen after this bill is enacted,” Ward said at a news conference in Sacramento on Wednesday. “But it’s not a teacher’s job — to be the gender police.”
Since California’s conservative schools began waging a culture war over LGBTQ+ student rights last summer, a flurry of lawsuits has followed, with conflicting rulings further complicating the debate over whether minors’ privacy rights are constitutional.
California Attorney. Gen. Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit last year against the Chino School District, alleging that its parent notification policy was discriminatory and violated civil rights and privacy laws.
A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge ruled during a preliminary hearing that the policy was discriminatory because it specifically targeted transgender students. This leads to Chino Valley The Board of Education will amend the policy to expand its scope to all students seeking changes to their records.
Bonta filed a new motion against the district last month, seeking a final judgment to ensure school board members don’t try to rewrite the policy as they continue to express support for it.
The Temecula teachers union is also suing local school officials over similar policies. In this case, Riverside County A high court judge temporarily allowed the policy. In Chico, a parent lost a legal battle after she accused the school district of failing to inform her of her child’s gender identity.
“We do need statutory guidance,” Ward said. “The lack of it leads to chaos.”
Meanwhile, anti-transgender activists are backing a ballot measure that would not only require schools across the state to notify parents of students’ gender changes, but also ban some transgender medical services for minors and create new rules for school bathrooms and sports teams. The long-shot ballot measure has not yet received enough signatures to advance to the November ballot.
If the measure passes, the laws Ward is trying to pass could become ineffective.
Republicans on Wednesday were quick to call the legislation an overreach by California Democrats on family matters.
Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (Yuba City Councilman) said on social media that the bill would “take parents out of their children’s education.”
“Parents have a right to know if there is a problem with their child’s health or well-being,” he said.
Amid the ongoing legal debate over parental notification and student privacy, it’s unclear what the law requires of teachers.
A Riverside County school district agreed last week to pay $360,000 to settle a lawsuit by a former teacher who said she was jailed for refusing to comply with requests to use students’ preferred pronouns and in some cases withholding that information from parents. Get fired. She said the policy violated her free speech and religious rights.
However, the focus of Wednesday’s Democratic news conference in Sacramento was the alternative possibility of teachers being forced to invade students’ privacy to remind families of their gender expression.
“A policy as blunt as the mandatory outing policy that requires teachers to undermine that trust creates barriers to providing this education,” said Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers. “You tell me your pronouns, I Will use it, we move forward, I will teach.”
State Trooper. Department of Public Instruction Director Tony Thurmond, who has announced plans to run for governor in 2026, joined Ward and members of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus in supporting the bill, noting that laws already exist to protect transgender students. Including sexist school bathroom requirements for neutrality.
“Cal students know who they are and who they will become. No one should try to define for any of our students who they are,” Thurmond said. “This is a personal issue. This is a security issue. This is a privacy issue.
Times staff writer Howard Blum contributed to this report.
