Murrieta schools ordered to stop enforcing transgender policy
Murrieta’s school district must stop enforcing a policy that requires parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender, the California Department of Education ordered after finding the policy discriminates against transgender youth.
The Wednesday letter gives the Murrieta Valley Unified School District five days to tell staff and students that the policy, approved in August, will not be implemented.
Department spokesperson Scott Roark said via email that the department “is unable to comment on pending investigations.”
District spokesperson Monica Gutierrez confirmed the district received the letter but said via email that it “has not implemented the policy, hence there has been no enforcing.” Her statement did not explain why the district is not enforcing the policy.
Last month, the board voted 3-2 to keep the policy after Superintendent Ward Andrus proposed rescinding the rules. At that meeting, the board approved a motion “to develop and approve an administrative regulation with further clarifications on implementation of the new policy,” Gutierrez said.
Murrieta’s policy mirrors those enacted by other California public school districts, including Chino Valley, Temecula and Orange, that have divided communities and led to tense board meetings featuring emotional testimony.
The policy requires parents or guardians to be notified if their student asks to identify as a gender other than the “biological sex or gender listed on the student’s birth certificate or any other official records.”
Actions that would warrant notification include requests to use different names or pronouns, access athletics teams or bathrooms not aligned with the student’s biological sex or change information on records, it states.
The policy’s backers say parents have an absolute right to know what’s going on in their children’s lives. Parents’ guidance is essential, they argue, when children struggle with their gender identity, and some who support the policy claim, without evidence, the schools encourage kids to become transgender.
Critics counter that the policy violates students’ privacy and endangers children whose parents don’t accept their transgender identity.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta sued to block the Chino Valley Unified School District’s policy and succeeded in getting a preliminary injunction against it, although another lawsuit by a public interest law firm failed to do the same in a lawsuit against the Temecula Valley Unified School District’s policy.
The letter to Murrieta schools stems from a March complaint filed by two district teachers — Jamie Goebel and Karen Poznanski.
“This policy not only violated the privacy and dignity of our students but also perpetuated harm and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals and their families,” Poznanski said via email.