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“This ruling acknowledges that every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and supported in their schools – without fear of being outed against their will,” Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, said.
A judge in California on Monday issued a permanent injunction against a local school district’s policy of outing transgender students.
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In July of 2023, Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) just east of Los Angeles passed a policy requiring parental notification when students requested to use a different name or pronoun or use facilities aligned with a gender identity that differed from their official documents.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued CVUSD the following month with the case California v. Chino Valley Unified School District. The district responded by changing the policy, removing references to gender identity, and requiring parental notification for changes to official and unofficial school records, but the suit remained active. San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs halted key parts of the old policy in his decision issued on Monday.
The court ruled in favor of the state and upheld earlier injunctions against two sections of the old parental notification policy. Those sections required parental notification when students requested to use a different name or pronoun or use facilities that aligned with a gender identity that differed from their official school documents.
However, the court let stand the section of the new policy that allowed parental notification about changes to a student’s official or unofficial school records.
Bonta hailed the decision as a victory for students and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
“This is a win for transgender and gender-nonconforming students across the state,” Bonta posted to social media following the decision.
“The San Bernardino Superior Court's decision to issue permanent injunctive and declaratory relief against the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education's forced outing policy is a tremendous victory for LGBTQ+ youth, their families, and the entire Chino Valley community,” Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, said in a statement following the decision. “This ruling acknowledges that every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and supported in their schools – without fear of being outed against their will.”
While Bonta and others welcomed the court’s rejection of key parts of the old policy, CVUSD Board President Sonja Shaw also claimed victory.
“We are disappointed with parts of the ruling and plan to appeal, but Attorney General Bonta is attempting to gaslight the public about its true impact,” Shaw posted to social media.
The district has also filed suit against the state in Chino Valley Unified School District v. Newsom, challenging AB 1955 which will prevent school districts from outing trans students to their parents. AB 1955 was signed in July by Gov. Gavin Newsom and will take effect on January 1, 2025.
“This critical bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Newsom earlier this year, prohibits school districts like Chino Valley from forcibly outing transgender youth without their consent and protects educators who foster safe, supportive learning environments,” Hoang said of AB 1955. “California voters have also made their voices heard when it comes to protecting transgender youth. So far this year, six school board members across the state have faced recall efforts following their support of anti-LGBTQ+ policies – and all six were successfully recalled.”
