The Cajon Valley Union School District is standing up against a soon-to-be-enacted state law that bars schools from notifying parents when their child changes their gender identity or pronouns.
The board voted unanimously in favor of a "Parental Bill of Rights,” requiring staff to notify parents of the changes. The district policy applies to students under the age of 12.
It would allow a district employee to tell a parent their child has asked to be identified by a different pronoun, gender, or name.
"Until that child reaches the age of maturity, the parent is responsible for the health welfare, and education. No teacher administrator or district should withhold anything related to my child’s health, welfare, or education from me,” said parent Scott Ludwig.
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Approving the bill of rights runs afoul of a first-in-the-country state law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last month.
It bans school rules, like Cajon Valley Union's, from requiring parents to be notified of a child’s pronoun change or if they ask to change their gender.
But Cajon Valley Union School Board President, Jim Miller, says their bill of rights is 8 months in the making.
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During that time, he says they kept an eye on legal challenges in other cities to see what they could do to help make sure theirs passed legal muster.
Miller who’s also a family attorney says, that despite the soon-to-be-enacted state law opposing districts to form a "Parental Bill of Rights,” parents do have rights when it comes to their children.
“Parents have an absolute right to their children's records with mental and physical health until the age of 12,” said Miller.
Supporters of California’s legislation say it will help protect LGBTQ+ students who live in unwelcoming households.
“All your actions say to me is you want to harm children like my own who don't identify as the gender they were assigned at birth, and disregard a student’s well-being and potentially spend money on legal fees instead of students," said one parent at the meeting.
The Cajon Valley Bill of Rights would require the district to notify parents within three school days of finding out a student has decided to identify differently.
The district is also facing criticism after it erased mentions of LGBTQ+ education from its sex-ed curriculum, something state leaders say is against the law.
