Current:Home > ScamsCalifornia Senate approves ban on schools notifying parents of their child’s pronoun change -Excel Money Vision
California Senate approves ban on schools notifying parents of their child’s pronoun change
View
Date:2025-04-14 09:31:39
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — School districts in California would be barred from forcing teachers to notify parents if their child asks to go by a new pronoun at school under a bill the state Legislature is weighing amid legal battles over the rights of parents and gender-nonconforming students.
The state Senate approved the proposal Thursday, which would ban school districts from passing or enforcing policies requiring school staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to anyone else without the child’s permission, with some exceptions. The goal is to protect students whose safety could be threatened if they live in unwelcoming households.
The issue is personal to Kai, a transgender man who recently graduated from high school within the Rocklin Unified School District near Sacramento and was treated for suicide attempts before coming out. He confided in a teacher “who had displayed her dedication and empathy toward all her students,” Kai said at a news conference last month.
“Having a trusted adult is paramount to ensuring a queer kid makes it to their next birthday,” he said. “If you care about kids, you’ll enact this legislation that will protect their well-being and protect their lives.”
Lawmakers approved the legislation along party lines after more than an hour of an emotional debate in which LGBTQ+ senators recounted stories about how they delayed coming out to their parents or were outed by someone else. They argued gender-noncomforming students should be able to come out to their families on their own terms. But Republican lawmakers said the state shouldn’t dictate whether school districts can enforce so-called parental notification policies and that schools have an obligation to be transparent with parents.
It is part of a nationwide debate over local school districts and the rights of parents and LGBTQ+ students. States across the country have sought to impose bans on gender-affirming care, bar trans athletes from girls and women’s sports, and require schools to “out” trans and nonbinary students to their parents. Some lawmakers in other states have introduced bills in their legislatures with broad language requiring that parents be notified of any changes to their child’s emotional health or well-being.
Republican state Sen. Kelly Seyarto, who represents Murrieta in Southern California, said schools should increase transparency with parents by notifying them of their child’s gender identification change.
“If we include the parents, that’s the best way to take something from people being angry and mad to developing a solution that works for everybody,” he said.
California officials shouldn’t prevent all parents being from notified because of the possibility that some parents may react badly, said Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, a conservative Christian advocacy group.
“You don’t assume that all parents are unsafe,” Burt said. “That shouldn’t be the assumption.”
The bill now heads to the state Assembly, where it would need to pass in committees and on the floor before it can reach the desk of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration has fought school boards over the notification policies.
The debate over policies requiring schools to notify parents of their child’s gender notification change is playing out in court cases across the state.
In August, Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, sued the Chino Valley Unified School District over the district’s notification rule, arguing it discriminated against gender-nonconforming students. A judge tentatively blocked parts of the policy, and the district later updated the rule to apply more broadly to when a child requests any change to their student records.
But in a case involving the Escondido Union School District in Southern California, a judge tentatively ruled to prevent the district from reprimanding teachers for notifying parents about their child’s gender identification change.
State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, who is lesbian, said on the Senate floor Thursday that she was outed to her mother when Menjivar was 16 years old.
“I came home to literally all my things on the front lawn, because I was kicked out,” the Democrat representing the San Fernando Valley said. “That’s what happens when parents don’t accept queer kids.”
Menjivar then went back into the closet so that she could continue living at home, she said. She didn’t come out again to her mother until she was 25 years old. Her mother is still not accepting, Menjivar, now 35, said.
“There are many queer kids in California who have these stories,” she said.
___
Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on the social platform X: @sophieadanna
veryGood! (11)
Related
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- 4th victim in Alaska landslide is 11-year-old girl; 2 people still missing, officials say
- George Santos says he expects he'll be expelled from Congress
- Texas governor skydives for first time alongside 106-year-old World War II veteran
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Indiana couple, 2 dogs, die when single-engine plane crashes in western Michigan after takeoff
- 12 tips and tricks to unlock the full potential of your iPhone
- New Zealand's new government plans to roll back cigarette ban as it funds tax cuts
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- 12 tips and tricks to unlock the full potential of your iPhone
Ranking
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Finding a place at the Met, this opera sings in a language of its own
- Walmart Cyber Monday Sale 2023: Get a $550 Tablet for $140, $70 Bed Sheets for $16 & More
- 4-year-old American Abigail Mor Edan among third group of hostages released by Hamas
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- 12 tips and tricks to unlock the full potential of your iPhone
- US economy doing better than national mood suggests. What to consider.
- UK government reaches a pay deal with senior doctors that could end disruptive strikes
Recommendation
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
Vanderpump Rules Alum Kristen Doute Shares She Had a Miscarriage
2 men exonerated for 1990s NYC murders after reinvestigations find unreliable witness testimony
The 40 Best Cyber Monday Deals on Celebrity Brands: SKIMS, Good American, Jordan, Fenty Beauty, and More
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
Ravens vs. Chargers Sunday Night Football highlights: Baltimore keeps perch atop AFC
Hamas to release second group of Israeli hostages after hours-long delay, mediators say
Israel and Hamas look to extend cease-fire on its final day, with one more hostage swap planned