The state attorney general’s office is going to court to stop the Chino Valley Unified School District and other districts from enforcing a in the future.
On Wednesday, April 24, the office filed a motion asking the court to make a final decision in its lawsuit against the district’s original parent notification policy and is trying to block the district and other schools from enacting such a parent notification policy in the future.
“Today’s motion seeks to ensure no child becomes a target again by blocking Chino Valley Unified from ever adopting another forced outing policy,” California State Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release.
The motion filed Wednesday targets the original policy adopted by the Chino Valley Unified board in July. The policy if students requested to change their name or pronouns, sought access to facilities or sports programs that did not align with the gender on their birth certificates or asked to change their school records.
The district in an effort to address some of the court’s concerns, Jacob Huebert, president of the Liberty Justice Center, which is representing the school district, said in a Wednesday email.
In October, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs granted requested by Bonta, preventing the district from implementing portions of the policy.
The main difference between the original and revised policies is that removes any mention of gender, making it apply to the entire student body. The latest version states that schools must notify parents or guardians if students change their official or unofficial record in anyway, participate in extracurricular activities, or are involved in a case of bullying or possible suicide.
The suit is calling for a final decision from the court to prevent the district from enacting its revised policy.
“Accordingly, the People ask this Court to issue final injunctive and declaratory relief to guarantee that the District’s transgender and gender nonconforming students are protected from discrimination, provide clarity to other schools,” the filed Wednesday states.
“This is not surprising,” Huebert said. “We knew the Attorney General would file this, and we’re already working on our opposition brief.”
The motion is attempting to stop a policy that no longer exists, making it moot, Huebert said.
“The board supports the fundamental rights of parents and guardians to direct the care and upbringing of their children, including the right to be informed of and involved in all aspects of their child’s education to promote the best outcomes,” Huebert said. “The AG’s motion here, against a policy that no longer exists, is just more political grandstanding in opposition to parental rights.”
He said both versions of the parental notification policy are common sense and constitutional and that a case reaffirmed that parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing is essential and not negotiable.
Our Schools USA, a grassroots nonprofit group focused on quality public education for all students, applauded Bonta for seeking a permanent injunction to the policy.
“Educating children works best with engaged parents and caring teachers working together to create a safe space for all children to learn,” parent and Our Schools USA co-founder Kristi Hirst said in a Wednesday news release. “The Attorney General is right as this policy has done nothing other than make students and parents afraid to be in a school and live in a district that has repeatedly gone out of its way to target people they don’t want to believe exist.”
Bonta urged school districts to “take note” and focus on student safety and privacy and the inclusivity of the student’s experience.
“It took a lawsuit and court order to get Chino Valley to rescind their discriminatory forced outing policy, but even now, the board has continued to assert that it was lawful, and board members continue to echo the anti-trans rhetoric they relied upon when passing it,” Bonta said in the release.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that the motion filed by the attorney general’s office targets Chino Valley Unified’s original parent notification policy.
