California School District Blocked From Outing Trans Students

The Chino Valley Unified School District’s policy of outing transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming students to their parents or guardians has been put on hold by a judge.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Southern California district last month in San Bernardino County Superior Court, saying the policy violates rights to privacy, equal protection of the laws, and freedom from discrimination under various California laws and the state constitution.

Superior Court Judge Tom Garza Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order keeping the policy from being enforced for a limited period. Garza scheduled a hearing for October 13 to consider a preliminary injunction, which would be a longer-term block on it.

Chino Valley was the first school district in California to enact such a policy. Adopted by the school board in July, it requires schools to inform parents or guardians, with minimal exceptions, whenever a student requests to use a name or pronoun different from that on their birth certificate or official records, even without the student’s permission. It also requires notification if a student requests to use facilities or participates in programs that don’t align with their sex on official records.

Opponents of the policy have pointed out that some young people have parents who aren’t supportive of their gender identity. Bonta had sent a letter of warning to the district about it. California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond spoke against the policy at the meeting where the Chino Valley board adopted it, and he was ejected.

“San Bernardino Superior Court’s decision to issue a temporary restraining order rightfully upholds the state rights of our LGBTQ+ student community and protects kids from harm by immediately halting the board’s forced outing policy,” Bonta said in a press release. “While this fight is far from over, today’s ruling takes a significant step towards ensuring the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming students. As we continue challenging the policy in court, my office will continue providing our unwavering support to ensure every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity.”

Bonta has denounced what he calls copycat policies in three other California school districts — Anderson Union, Temecula, and Murrieta Valley.