California School Board Votes in Favor of Notifying Parents about Trans-Identifying Students
A California school board voted in favor of a new rule which would require teachers and school administrators to notify parents when a student identifies as transgender.
The Murrieta Valley Unified School District (MVUSD) voted 3-2 in favor of the new policy after several parents made their opinions and concerns heard at the meeting on Thursday.
The new policy is a major triumph for parental rights in a state that prides itself on being a “safe haven” for transgender-identifying minors. Several children in the state have been aided in concealing their identities from parents by school administrators and counselors who encourage students to pursue social or medical “transitions.”
Fox News reported that the public comment portion of the meeting lasted three hours because of the massive community turnout. Several attendees held signs reading “Protect Family Bonds,” while others brought LGBTQ+ supportive signage.
“I can’t see how keeping secrets from parents will ever end well,” one woman at the meeting stated.
According to Fox, the California Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, emailed the school board requesting that they reverse its new policy that was enacted shortly after the state Attorney General, Rob Bonta, announced an investigation of another school district for implementing a similar policy.
Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) adopted a policy in July requiring school employees to inform parents if a child has requested to change their gender or pronouns in school, or if the student request to use a restroom that does not align with their sex.
“Chino Valley Unified’s forced outing policy threatens the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ students vulnerable to harassment and potential abuse from peers and family members unaccepting of their gender identity,” California AG Bonta said in a press release. “Today’s announcement stresses our commitment to challenging school policies that target and seek to discriminate against California’s most vulnerable communities. California will not stand for violations of our students’ civil rights.”
School board members expressed to Fox News that they feel this investigation is meant to intimidate CVUSD and other schools within the state into abandoning the transgender policies, and thus, parental rights entirely.
