A judge in San Bernardino has issued a temporary restraining order halting the enforcement of a policy by the Chino Valley Unified School District in California that required schools to inform parents if a student identifies as transgender or gender-nonconforming. The ruling comes amidst a larger legal battle between conservative-leaning school districts and state leaders over LGBTQ+ issues. The controversial policy prompted a civil rights investigation and lawsuit by the state attorney general. The judge's decision will be further discussed in a hearing scheduled for October 13.
California State Superintendent of Schools, Tony Thurmond, was asked to leave a Chino Valley Unified School District meeting in Southern California after exceeding his allotted speaking time while expressing opposition to a policy requiring administrators to inform parents if their child identifies as transgender. Despite Thurmond's objections, the board ultimately approved the policy, which mandates parental notification for transgender students. Thurmond criticized the policy for violating students' privacy rights. School Board President Sonja Shaw accused Thurmond of being a danger to students and promoting division. State Attorney General Rob Bonta warned that the policy potentially infringes on students' privacy rights and educational opportunities. In a separate incident, Governor Gavin Newsom fined the Temecula Valley Unified School District $1.5 million for rejecting state-endorsed textbooks mentioning gay rights activist Harvey Milk.
New Jersey's Attorney General has filed lawsuits against three school districts for adopting policies to tell parents if their children show signs of changing their gender identity, alleging that the policies violate New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination and put transgender students at risk. The lawsuits seek to stop the districts from enforcing the policies, which were enacted on June 20, and come as some of the most intense battles of the culture wars, nationally and in New Jersey, play out in suburban and rural school districts.
