School district sues Gavin Newsom for the right to out trans kids to their parents

A school district in Southern California has sued Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over a recent law that bans schools from forcibly outing students to their parents.

On Tuesday, the Chino Valley Unified school and a few parents sued Newsom, saying that the law violates their constitutional rights as parents.

Related:

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes 3 pro-LGBTQ+ bills after signing several into law in September

Newsom praised the intent of the bills, but worried about their ambiguous nature and whether they followed the law.

The new law bans districts from requiring that parents be notified if their child asks to go by a new name or pronouns or use facilities not associated with their sex assigned at birth.

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“School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school,” Emily Rae, a lawyer representing the district, said in a statement.

Newsom’s spokesperson, Izzy Gardon, called the lawsuit “unserious.” Gardon said in an email to The Guardian that the law “preserves the child-parent relationship.”

“California law ensures minors can’t legally change their name or gender without parental consent, and parents continue to have guaranteed and full access to their student’s educational records consistent with federal law,” she said. “We’re confident the state will swiftly prevail in this case.”

Newsom signed the law in question on Monday, and it is the first of its kind in the United States. Called the SAFETY Act, along with prohibiting parents from being notified if their child’s gender identity changes, it also protects teachers and administrators if they choose not to follow district directives to out queer kids to their parents.

“With the governor’s signature, our state becomes the first in the country to ensure protections against forced outing in school are clearly enshrined in statute,” Becca Cramer-Mowder, who works with ACLU California Action, said in a statement. “LGBTQ+ students and their families deserve to decide on their own terms when and how to have conversations about coming out.”

California Family Council, whose mission is to “advance God’s Design for Life, Family, & Liberty in California’s Church, Capitol, & Culture,” opposes the bill. The organization’s president, Jonathan Keller, said, “This bill undermines their [the parents’] fundamental role and places boys and girls in potential jeopardy. Moms and dads have both a constitutional and divine mandate to guide and protect their kids, and A.B. 1955 egregiously violates this sacred trust.”

This isn’t the first time Chino Valley District has opposed pro-LGBTQ+ legislation. In June of 2023, they tried to adopt a policy requiring school officials to notify parents and guardians in writing within three days of their child’s request to use a name, gendered pronouns, or bathrooms that don’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. They voted to approve the policy, which a judge then blocked.

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