SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CITC) — A coalition of California lawmakers is seeking to ban school district policies requiring teachers to notify parents of their children's gender identity.
Assemblymember Chris Ward, D-San Diego, along with the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, introduced the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth Act (SAFETY Act) Wednesday. The legislation, if passed, would prohibit school districts from implementing "forced outing policies," as well as prevent districts from retaliating against staff who refuse to share a student's gender identity with their parents.
Additionally, the bill would require parents and students be provided with resources to "navigate conversations around gender and identity on their own terms."
Teachers should not be the gender police and violate the trust and safety of the students in their classrooms,” Assemblymember Ward said. “Parents should be talking to their children, and the decision for a student to come out to their family members should be on their own terms."The bill follows at least seven California school districts adopting parental notification policies over the last year. California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Chino Valley Unified School District in August over its implementation of such a policy, calling the practice "detrimental to the well-being of LGBTQ+ students." Bonta has also publicly condemned multiple other school districts for their policies, including the Temecula Valley Unified School District.
READ MORE | California teachers union pushing to keep students' gender identities hidden from parents
The SAFETY Act drew the support of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond Wednesday, who said it "affirms families’ ability to handle family matters at home, without school employees being forced to intervene."
"The SAFETY Act will allow our teachers to focus on teaching academic skills, not on policing gender identity," he added.
Thurmond was escorted out of the July school board meeting where Chino Valley approved its parental notification policy after attending to raise concerns over student safety impacts. Chino Valley school board president Sonja Shaw accused Thurmond of "proposing things that pervert children" before he was led away.
Tony Thurmond, I appreciate you being here tremendously, but here's the problem. We're here because of people like you," Shaw told the state superintendent.READ MORE | Colorado GOP urges parents to pull kids from public schools over new gender identity law
Community reactions to the parental notifications policies have been largely mixed. Some parents in the Orange Unified School District in September called the practice a "very close parallel" to "trying to segregate one group of students." However, Chino Valley parents said in July the notification policies honor parental rights, with one arguing it is "morally repugnant" to "think parents shouldn't be involved with their children."
The SAFETY Act will be heard by the California Senate Education Committee next week, according to Assemblymember Ward.
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