California’s hotly contested bill, signed into law by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, has angered parents and politicians, who have decried the gender identity law as an infringement on parental rights.
The bill, the first of its kind in the nation, would prohibit schools in the state from notifying parents if their child uses pronouns or a gender identity that is opposite to their biological sex.
AB 1955 prohibits school districts from notifying parents if their child begins using pronouns or identifying with a gender different from the gender listed on their school records, and it also prohibits school districts from “retaliating or taking adverse action” against employees who affirm a student’s gender identity.
“The bill would prohibit a school district from enacting or enforcing any policy, rule, or administrative regulation that would require an employee or contractor to disclose information about a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to another person without the student’s consent,” the law states.
The Act also states:[s] Employees or contractors of such educational institutions shall not be required to make such disclosures unless otherwise required by law.”
Gavin Newsom/Classroom (Getty Images)
Erin Friday, a California attorney and co-director of Our Duty, a group that helps parents protect their children from transgender ideology, told Fox News Digital that the law will increase secrecy in California’s public schools.
“We’re the first state to actually require teachers to lie to parents about their child’s gender identity,” she said.
Friday’s daughter suffered from gender dysphoria until she and her husband intervened. She no longer identifies as transgender.
“If other adults embody these children’s false identities, that opportunity is taken away. These children are in school with these teachers for six or seven hours a day. [and are] “Parents don’t have the opportunity to separate these children. They’re now tied to this gender identity and the social contagion continues,” Friday said.
AB1955 also requires the state Department of Education to develop strategies to increase resources for and support for LGBTQ students.
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The law, signed by Governor Newsom on July 15, goes into effect in the new year, but conflicts with policies recently passed by some school districts across the state that require parents to notify if their child wants to change their gender.
After a similar law requiring parents to be notified was rejected by the California Legislature, school districts began passing their own policies.
On Friday, California Assemblyman Bill Essari helped author AB 1314, a bill that died in the California Assembly before it could be debated. Essari said AB 1955 was a response to efforts to enact parental notification laws.
Southern California’s Chino Valley Unified School District was the first district in the state to pass a parent notification policy, leading state Attorney General Rob Bonta to file a lawsuit against the district in August 2023. Earlier that month, Bonta announced a civil rights investigation into the district over the policy, which he said requires staff to “disclose” transgender students.
Now, the Chino Valley Unified School District is suing Newsom, claiming that the law violates parents’ rights under the U.S. Constitution. The Liberty Justice Center (LJC) filed the lawsuit on behalf of the district last Tuesday.
Students and classrooms (iStock/Getty)
“This is an extremely bad faith lawsuit that appears designed not to bring to the surface a legitimate legal claim but to stir up the garbage heap once known as Twitter,” said Izzy Gurdon, a spokeswoman for Newsom.
“AB 1955 protects the parent-child relationship, California law ensures that minors cannot legally change their name or gender without parental consent, and ensures that parents continue to have full access to their students’ education records, consistent with federal law,” he added. “I am confident that the state will win this case swiftly.”
Murrieta, Temecula, Orange and Rocklin school districts have instituted similar parent notification policies. according to Our obligation.
Many Democrats, including California Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, agree with Bonta’s assessment. He addressed a crowd of angry parents. Regarding AB1955 in June prior to the bill’s passage.
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“There is a lot of research showing that students are beaten by their parents and classmates when it is revealed that they do not match the gender they were assigned at birth,” Muratsuchi said.
“That is a fact,” he added, without providing any evidence for his claim. His parents were quick to denounce his claims as “lies.”
“I can’t believe he said that out loud,” one parent said.
Vincent Wagner, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom’s (ADF) Parental Rights Center, told Fox News Digital that the Constitution guarantees parents the fundamental right to direct their children’s upbringing, education and health care, but under AB 1955, he said, the state is interfering with parents’ ability to exercise that right.
“If parents know what’s going on and are able to support their children, their children will develop better because parents love them more than anyone in the world,” he added.
Wagner said provisions of AB 1955 prohibit school districts from doing “the right thing.”
“In California, if a school district wants to do the right thing, they’re no longer allowed to do it. This is not uncommon in California,” he added. “Prior to this law, the state has gone after some local school districts that wanted to keep parents informed about these decisions.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom (Chris Dumond/Shutterstock)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Newsom spokesman Brandon Richards defended California’s new law, saying it “protects the important role of parents while keeping children safe” and “protects the parent-child relationship by preventing politicians and school officials from inappropriately intruding on family matters or attempting to control if, when and how families have deeply personal conversations.”
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Friday said Democratic states across the country are keeping parents in the dark because they already have “policies of lying to parents” in place, not through law but through school board policies.
“Schools will continue to lie to parents and teachers who don’t want to deceive parents will continue to sue and be successful,” she said. “Parent lawsuits will continue and those lawsuits are going to the court of appeals.”
Friday said it will ultimately be the Supreme Court that decides whether parents have a right to know if their child is experiencing mental health issues at school.
On the other hand, more children would be harmed because parents could get the mental health care they need if they knew about their children’s gender issues early, she said. If parents don’t get that care, more children would be harmed, more people would stop transitioning and more people would commit suicide, she said.
Wagner agreed, warning that AB 1855 is part of a nationwide trend of schools interfering with parents’ rights, a right protected by the Constitution.
“When California passed anti-parental laws in the past, other states followed suit,” he said. “That’s what’s going to happen in late 2022, 2023, with several other states following California’s lead and passing anti-parental laws.”
“It’s important to identify key players like California, make their efforts public and connect them to what’s happening across the country,” he added.
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