BILL WOULD REQUIRE SCHOOLS NOTIFY PARENTS IF CHILD TRANSGENDER
LGBTQ activists voice opposition to measure
A new bill would force California school districts to notify parents that their child is gender-nonconforming or transgender, sparking backlash from LGBTQ activists and organizations.
The measure, Assembly Bill 1314, would require school districts to notify parents in writing within three days after learning a student is identifying as a gender that doesn’t align with official records or their birth certificate.
“Parents play a critical role in nurturing and supporting children and they cannot be removed from the equation,” Assemblymember Bill Essayli, a Riverside Republican, who sponsored the bill, said during a news conference outside Jurupa Valley High School on March 13.
Jessica Tapia, a former teacher at Jurupa Valley High School, said she was fired after refusing to follow the law that bars educators from disclosing students’ gender identities to their parents without their consent.
“I said, ‘Are you asking me to lie?’ And they said, ‘Yes. It’s the law and it’s for the student’s privacy,’” Tapia said during the news conference. “I can’t understand how the school system seems to think that we ought to act as though we are the parent.”
Tapia is planning on suing the Jurupa Unified School District for wrongful termination.
According to the California Department of Education, “Schools must consult with a transgender student to determine who can or will be informed of the student’s transgender status, if anyone, including the student’s family. With rare exceptions, schools are required to respect the limitations that a student places on the disclosure of their transgender status, including not sharing that information with the student’s parents.”
The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus released a statement opposing the bill, saying AB 1314 would put transgender and nonbinary students in “potentially life threatening danger, subjecting them to trauma and violence.”
“Teachers should not be forced into the inappropriate position of revealing a student’s personal information about their gender identity with anyone,” the statementsaid.
Executive Director Tony Hoang of Equality California, the country’s biggest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, also opposes the bill.
“We want LGBTQ+ students to feel safe talking to their parents about their gender and sexuality, but AB 1314 ignores the reality that not all trans youth have that option,” Hoang said in a statement. “Trans people are more likely to face family rejection and even abuse at home based on their gender identity, which leads to overrepresentation in foster care, juvenile detention, and among unhoused youth.”