California's ban on LGBTQ parental notification policies faces legal challenge

California's ban on "forced outings" of trans and non-binary students in schools is being challenged in court by a local school district with a policy requiring parents to be notified of changes in a student's name or pronoun.

Since July 2023, several California school boards voted to pass policies requiring teachers to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender or changes the name or pronouns other than what aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth. The Chino Valley Unified School District is one of these districts to pass such a policy.

Chino Valley School District was sued in August 2023 by California Attorney General Rob Bonta for its enforcement of such policy.

"Every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity – regardless of their gender identity," Bonta said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

He continued, "The forced outing policy wrongfully endangers the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of non-conforming students who lack an accepting environment in the classroom and at home."

LGBTQ advocates say these policies can endanger children who may not have a safe or accepting home to confide in.

In a contentious hearing on the forced disclosure policy last year, school board president Sonja Shaw suggested that transgender and gender nonbinary individuals needed "non-affirming" parents to "get better."

In response to the lawsuit, Shaw told the Associated Press that the board "will stand our ground and protect our children with all we can because we are not breaking the law ... Parents have a constitutional right in the upbringing of their children. Period."

Since then, California legislators moved to ban parental notification policies in schools citing concerns about LGBTQ youth mental health. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1955 -- Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act -- into law to address these concerns on Monday.

That law is now being challenged in court by a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Chino Valley Unified School District and several parents in the school district.

"These parental notification policies often address not only gender transition but also myriad other issues that parents would want or need to know about their child's education and development," a complaint filed by Chino Valley Unified School District against California's ban on such policies reads. "For example, if a student is injured, bullied, or exhibits suicidal behavior at school, but does not want their parents to know, a school will notify the parents."

Elon Musk, who owns X and SpaceX, has said he will move his company out of California in response to the ban on forced disclosure.

"This is the final straw," said Musk on his social media platform. "Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas."

LGBTQ advocates applauded the passage of the law.

"Choosing when to come out and to whom is a deeply personal decision that every LGBTQ+ young Individual has the right to make for themselves," said the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus in a fact sheet on the forced disclosure ban. "Many parents and families understand this and want to support their children coming out to them on their own terms. Unfortunately, not all young people are welcome or safe being their authentic selves at home, and in those cases schools can be a critical source of support."

It's the latest legal battle surrounding transgender youth in schools -- as LGBTQ content, pronoun and name changes, use of gendered facilities and sports continue to be a key source of contention in both local and national politics.