California is suing to stop schools from outing trans kids to their parents - POLITICO
By: Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli (POLITICO)
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California
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.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — 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.
"Our message to Chino Valley Unified and all school districts in California is loud and clear: We will never stop fighting for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ students," Bonta said in a prepared statement.
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.
Backers have characterized the policy as a "parental rights issue," but Bonta alleges the board is unlawfully discriminating against transgender and gender-nonbinary students.
"In discussing the policy before its passage, board members made a number of statements describing students who are transgender or gender non-conforming as suffering from a 'mental illness' or 'perversion,' or as being a threat to the integrity of the nation and the family," Bonta said in a statement.
Chino Valley and other California school districts in recent years have become the targets of religious conservatives who have recruited and helped elect local candidates in a state where Democrats dominate higher offices.
Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified Board of Education, is the primary backer of the board's new policy on trans students. Prior to her election in November, Shaw said she was "never involved in any politics" until the pandemic revealed that Sacramento politicians were "pushing perversion on our children in every possible way."
"To be honest with you, I didn't even know what the GOP was," she told a crowd of supporters at the state Capitol last week.
Bonta, in his lawsuit, argues the policy infringes on several state protections, including California's equal protection clause, the state education and government code, and California's constitutional right to privacy.
The tensions are likely to continue outside of the courtroom with conservative groups looking to qualify statewide ballot measures relating to schools and the Legislature's LGBTQ+ caucus prepared to introduce a bill prohibiting such policies.
POLITICO
No Trump or fascist nonsense. Memes must be topical.
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Lol …. Only in Calicrazy ….
It was only a matter of time.............land of fruits and nuts.
Rock Legend Loses Brand Deal for Referring to Transgenderism As a 'Fad' (townhall.com)
Sad shit right there...............
Does California still send report cards with grades home?
I believe the state should take a less extreme approach. This is a serious matter, and while some parents may react in an abusive way, there is no reason to treat all parents as if they are intolerant and mean.
In fact - and this is well documented - the most important thing a young person in this situation can have is support from family. By keeping parents in the dark, you deprive kids of the opportunity to enjoy this support.
I’m not suggesting that the school just send a note home and wash its hands of the matter. I think this could be a conversation with counselors. Afterward, teachers and administrators could keep an eye on the student for signs of problems at home. If abuse is suspected, these people are already mandatory reporters.
Growing up LGBT is hard enough. If you add to that the prospect of keeping this intimate secret from your parents every day for years, you put a lot of stress on a young person. That will never be a healthy state of being.
I’ve known plenty of LGBT young people who were either condemned or disowned by their parents, or the parents wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening. I think that sucks, but there are also parents who change their approach when they realize that their support might mean the difference between a happy life for their child versus possible suicide.
To state the obvious, let’s not ignore that a school aged person who is not initiating this conversation with their parents likely is doing so because they know how negative their personal outcome would be.
They don’t know. Not all of them. To be sure, some have good reason to fear. But I have also seen violent and abusive parents surprise when it became necessary to have a different response.
All kids hide things from their parents. Is that because all parents are terrifying abusers? We can’t just make sweeping laws based on the assumption that parents are going to be terrible to their kids. If we really believe that, then all children should just be raised by the state.
I maintain that an effort has to be made to have a dialogue and seek support from family. Living in fear and uncertainty is not a healthy alternative.
I wish I could guarantee a happy and healthy outcome for all these kids, but I doubt there is a way to do that.
I maintain that an effort has to be made to have a dialogue and seek support from family.
You don’t need to go any further than this forum to learn just how futile this effort would be for certain families. Pure hatred for all things trans is on daily display here, particularly as it applies to the younger generation. That would amount to nothing more than speeding up the homelessness and suicide rate.