Parents, beware: California school district's gender identity parental notification policy halted as state wages legal challenge

 A temporary restraining order has been issued against the Chino Valley Unified School District's commonsense policy requiring schools to notify parents if a student seeks to identify as a member of the opposite sex.

"San Bernardino Superior Court’s decision to issue a temporary restraining order rightfully upholds the state rights of our LGBTQ+ student community and protects kids from harm by immediately halting the board's forced outing policy," California state Attorney General Rob Bonta said, according to a press release. 

Bonta had announced a legal challenge against the school district's policy last week.

"While this fight is far from over, today's ruling takes a significant step towards ensuring the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming students. As we continue challenging the policy in court, my office will continue providing our unwavering support to ensure every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity," Bonta continued. 

The gender identity notification policy, which Bonta has described as "dangerous," requires schools to inform parents within three days of learning that a student has asked "to be identified or treated, as a gender ... other than the student's biological sex or gender listed on the student's birth certificate or any other official records. This includes any request by the student to use a name that differs from their legal name (other than a commonly recognized diminutive of the child's legal name) or to use pronouns that do not align with the student’s biological sex or gender listed on the student’s birth certificate or other official records," the policy states. 

Similarly, the policy stipulates that schools must notify parents after learning that a child is participating in sex-segregated activities or using restrooms that do not match "the student's biological sex or gender listed on the birth certificate or other official records."

Corey Jackson, a Democratic member of the California State Assembly, has characterized the policy as a Christian nationalist power grab.

"This has nothing to do with parent rights, but everything to do with a Christian nationalists movement who is trying to gain political power by attacking minority groups," Jackson wrote last week.