Chino Valley school district sues California over new law banning forced outing

The Chino Valley Unified School District and some parents have sued the state of California over a new law banning the forced outing of LGBTQ+ students.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1955 into law Monday. It bars school districts from requiring teachers or other staffers to disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to their parents or guardians without the student’s consent. Such forced outing puts young people at risk if their families are not accepting. The law takes effect January 1 and will be the first of its kind in the nation.

The district and parents are represented by the Liberty Justice Center, based in Texas. The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. It argues that the new law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law.

“PK-12 minor students, most of whom are too young to drive, vote, or provide medical consent for themselves, are also too young to make life-altering decisions about their expressed gender identity without their parents’ knowledge,” Emily Rae, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, said in a press release. “But that is precisely what AB 1955 enables — with potentially devastating consequences for children too young to fully comprehend them.”

But Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, told the Associated Press the lawsuit is “deeply unserious” and said the new statute “preserves the child-parent relationship.”

“California law ensures minors can’t legally change their name or gender without parental consent, and parents continue to have guaranteed and full access to their student’s educational records consistent with federal law,” Gardon added. “We’re confident the state will swiftly prevail in this case.”

The Chino Valley district has had some other legal clashes with the state. California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the district last year after it adopted a policy forcing the outing of transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming students to their parents or guardians. A judge has temporarily blocked the policy, and the district then amended it to require parents or guardians to be notified only if a student requests any changes to their official records.