California Bans Schools From Outing LGBTQIA+ Students, But Faces Legal Challenge
A California law protecting LGBTQIA+ students from forced outings is under fire. The Chino Valley Unified School District filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the state’s ban on policies that require schools to tell parents about their child’s gender identity.
“Moms and dads have both a constitutional and divine mandate to guide and protect their kids” – Jonathan Keller, California Family Council President
From January 1st, California schools could no longer tell parents if a student changed their gender identity at school. The law came after some districts required notifying parents about pronoun or name changes.
While LGBTQIA+ advocates and educators support the ban, some parents oppose it. The California Family Council argues it undermines parents’ role and puts kids at risk.
On Tuesday, the conservative Liberty Justice Center sued to block the law on behalf of Chino Valley Unified School District. Last year, the district was sued by the state for making staff tell parents about students’ pronoun and bathroom requests.
States Split on Transgender Student Policies
California’s approach contrasts with laws in eight states that make schools share info about transgender students with families. Five more states encourage outing kids to parents.
Arizona, for example, lets parents see all school records, even counseling notes that could reveal a student’s gender identity.
Liberal and conservative states are increasingly at odds over LGBTQIA+ issues in schools. Some blue states mandate LGBTQIA+ inclusion in curricula, while red states pass “Don’t Say Gay” laws limiting gender and sexuality topics.
The divide extends to book bans, with progressive states moving to restrict the removal of titles dealing with race and LGBTQIA+ themes.
