California is suing to stop schools from outing trans kids to their parents
California is suing to stop schools from outing trans kids to their parents
Attorney General Rob Bonta said the policy ‘wrongfully endangers’ non-conforming students.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday to stop a Southern California school district from outing transgender students to their parents, arguing that the policy violates students’ civil and constitutional rights and could cause them “mental emotional, psychological, and potential physical harm.”
Bonta’s suit against the Chino Valley Unified School District is the latest attempt by Democratic state officials to combat the recent adoption of such policies by conservative school boards. The outcome of the case could have bearing on other districts that have enacted similar rules in the last two months, including Murrieta Valley, Temecula and Anderson Union High School.
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The policy passed last month by the Chino Valley Unified School Board requires schools to inform parents whenever a student asks to use a different name or pronoun than what’s in their official record, or if a student requests to use facilities or participate in programs that don’t align with their assigned sex. A similar statewide proposal, introduced by Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, stalled and has almost no chance of becoming law in the Democratic supermajority Legislature.
If their parents are loving and understanding individuals they would already know. It's not the job of the school to decide when and how kids come out.
124As somebody in a conservative county with kids in school, that is the point to them. They frame it as "parent's rights" but the purpose is to try to out closeted Trans kids to their parents so the parents will "fix it". To them it is all upside. The kids with supportive parents? They consider them a lost cause anyways. The kids with unsupportive parents they hope they can "fix", or at least force them to hide it.
50I hate "parent's rights" so much.
What about the rights of the kid? I wish that as a kid I had more rights and support outside of just my parents. Turns out not all parents are great. And I am never not grateful for finally being an adult and actually independent and free, with my own life in my hands.
Not having enough independence as a young teenager really feels like it harms development more than anything else.
16
The high school aged trans kids I know have conservative parents. In all these cases the parents already know. In general the parents don’t like it, but they still love their kids and are hoping it’s a phase and are letting the kids figure it out on their own. The last thing any of them would want is to have a conversation with the government school about their kid’s identity. It puts them in the position to either formally bless their kids preferred names/pronouns or go to war with the kid. None of these parents would choose the latter so I really can’t see what the districts are trying to accomplish.
8so I really can’t see what the districts are trying to accomplish.
The districts want to make trans kids afraid to be themselves in any context.
27
I find this really based and I think american teena need some social wins. Parents are spending an unbelievable amount of times with their kids nowadays, and it's not without entitlement and without making lots of decisions for their kids.
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Yeah seriously this is a basic safeguarding concern. Don't out people. If the child wants their parents to know, they will tell them as and when they are ready.
54They claim it's "parental rights", but these same people will not even hesitate for a MOMENT to dismiss the rights of the parents if it means interfering with conservative values. They'll ban books the parents want their kids to access, refuse to use pronouns/identities requested by parents, proselytize children against the faith of the family (because the SCOTUS has all but abandoned the establishment clause as a limit on state-sanctioned religious activity), forbid teaching subjects like black history that parents want their children to know about, and anything else that is part of their culture war.
Conservatism is a cancer on society.
58Parental rights to beat their kids for being queer.
29Yup. Even in the same piece of legislation:
- Teachers cannot be forced to gender students correctly, because free speech. (The parents' "parental rights" over how their child is addressed don't apply)
- Teachers cannot choose to gender students correctly, because "parental rights". (The teachers free speech rights to choose how they address the child don't apply)
But it is worth pointing out, as much as it seems hypocritical of them to do this: Conservatives know. They do not care. It's not hypocritical because they have never believed that the rules should ever apply to them. It's a strategy, and it is very, very effective.
(edit: typo)
27"Parental rights" is just another dog whistle. It's up there with zoning laws concerning multi-family dwellings.
15
My liberal parents persuaded me out of transitioning as a teen, my Dad worked at the school district so there was no avoiding him finding out without my consent and without my planning to handle the backlash.
10I'm sorry you had to go through that.
6
The regressive playbook is to make everything the responsibility of "the family" because they don't want government telling them they can't abuse their kids.
When that is accomplished, suddenly it will be acceptable for government to force families to do (or not) certain things. We are seeing the beginning ramp up here.
Either you have human rights or you don't. Your parents having the right to curtail your rights means that they aren't universal, and the government can and will be involved again once you gut enough oversight.
24See also, republican states leading the charge for child marriage.
7
participate in programs that don’t align with their assigned sex
What exactly does that mean? Which school activities are gendered? Are they going to report male students that want to take home ec to their parents?
19Clearly talking about gender-segregated sports. And the first half of that same quotation totally clarifies they will do it even if a student merely changes gender/pronounts on their official records.
This was a radical right, antitrans school board passing a policy specifically designed to antagonize and endanger trans students.
22My school had gendered health classes in sixth grade.
5https://daily.jstor.org/gender-incommensurability-in-sports/ An interesting take on gender separation in sports.
3
Please, if they would just make a California without a housing crisis, you'd have 150 million Americans living there.
19There is a serious concerted effort by right wing groups to attack several foundational programs in California. Several school districts are fighting back against ultra conservative candidates and out of area people coming in to disrupt Board meetings and trying to erode rights from vulnerable communities.
People may see California as a very blue state, but there are some very conservative/Red areas of the state between the big metro cities. (Think Trump flags everywhere)
18Absolutely yes! You don't get a housing crisis without neoliberal policies and medding from the rich. Homelessness? Politicians lacking empathy, and non-profits who game the system with corruption. There red districts in California are HUGE and even extreme blue cities are gripped by the right, kept from helping the working class. You probably know better than I do.
5
Which is why there is a (worse in Cali) housing crisis. Housing WAS cheap in places that people didn't want to live. Now with WFH, people can live anywhere. Republican had to pull out all the stops to prevent normal people from moving into their states.
10Same with Mass. They’re quietly doing one thing after another to help residents, but at the same time Boston is being gentrified so much that many families who’ve been there for generations can’t afford to stay. The wealth disparity gap is crushing people in every state, the red ones just try to speed that up more.
6That is heartbreaking.
4
Too bad puberty happens before children can be legally independent from their parents. Also religious confirmation, political indoctrination, and lasting physical and metal abuse in some cases. Of course, a lot of good stuff happens before that point as well. We just expect it to happen, so it doesn't talked about as much.
16If I went to this school I'd be requesting new pronouns or name every day.
15Seriously this is funny, jokes aside though trans kids are really gonna appreciate the opportunity to have this extra bit of autonomy and safety in their lives.
6
Permanently Deleted
10to combat the recent adoption of such policies by conservative school boards
If they were truly "conservative" they wouldn't do things like this.
7Right? They preach that you need freedom and the government shouldn't have power in your life... lol...
6See: Doublespeak
4
Going after the REAL problems we face in that state!
Imagine if they spent 1/2 as much effort on the literal dozens of people this impacts versus problems that impact all 40,000,000 residents of CA. They might actually have found a solution to their awful tent city problem or unsustainable real estate prices or high taxes by now. Priorities!1!!
-20What a ridiculous argument.
The state isn't spending resources, they are telling school districts to stop spending resources abusing kids.
9