Families sue Newsom over California law hiding students’ gender transitions from parents

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a lawsuit over the state’s newly signed law barring school districts from passing policies that require parents to be notified when their children adopt opposite-sex identities in class.

America First Legal sued in federal court on behalf of nine California families and the city of Huntington Beach to block Assembly Bill 1955, calling the legislation signed in July by Mr. Newsom an “attack on fundamental parental rights.”

“The State of California is now using state law to force schools to hide a child’s desire to ’gender transition’ from parents. This is outrageous,” America First Legal executive director Gene Hamilton said. “Parents—not the government or any school system — have the utmost right to raise their children and protect their children from this dangerous ideology.”

Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark said the law “compelling secrecy not only puts children at risk, it is also an unconstitutional invasion of the parent/child relationship by the State.”

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, shortly after the Huntington Beach City Council voted to declare itself a “Parents’ Right to Know” city, prohibiting schools from withholding information related to a student’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expressions to Parents.”

Three California school districts represented by the Liberty Justice Center sued last month to stop AB 1955, which takes effect Jan. 1.

Democratic legislators passed AB 1955, the first law of its kind in the nation, after a handful of school districts passed policies requiring school officials to notify parents when their children request to go by opposite-sex names and pronouns, or use opposite-sex facilities.

Under the law, schools may disclose information about a student’s gender transition to parents only with student permission. There is no age limit, meaning that “schools cannot notify parents even if preschoolers socially transition,” the lawsuit said.

“Furthermore, AB 1955 prevents schools from disciplining in any way employees who are initiating or facilitating social transitioning, which courts have recognized is a type of medical intervention or treatment, and that medical professionals have recognized inflicts serious short-term and long-term harm,” the motion filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California said.

The LGBTQ group Equality California was among those advocating for the bill, saying it prevents schools “from forcibly outing transgender youth without their consent and protects educators who foster safe, supportive learning environments.”

The anonymous parents bringing the lawsuit included a mother whose daughter began socially transitioning in ninth grade without her knowledge, including using a male name and pronouns, with the help of employees at her Los Angeles County high school.

“Teachers and administrators began ’socially transitioning’ 1C, referring to her by a male name,” the lawsuit said. “The principal of the school pulled 1C aside for a meeting to tell 1C that the principal and teachers were mandated to not tell 1A about 1C’s social transitioning. And one school staff person even made 1C a new school identification card with the male name.”

After seeing the boy’s name on a biology assignment, the mother identified as 1A battled with the school to stop staffers from using the girl’s male name and pronouns, a process that included hiring an attorney and filing public records.

“1A reports that 1C no longer identifies as the opposite sex and is ’becoming herself again,’” the lawsuit said. “However, 1A fears that once AB 1955 goes into effect, it will undermine her hard-won contractual rights, her parental rights, and her ability to protect her daughter’s mental health.”

Attorney General Rob Bonta said that he is “committed to providing his unwavering support to ensure every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy and inclusivity,” according to a statement from his office.

Mr. Bonta issued a “legal alert” earlier this year reminding “California education officials and institutions that forced outing policies violate the California Constitution and state laws safeguarding students’ civil rights.”