Amy Vaughn is president and co-founder of California-based Protecting Children's Educational Rights (PERK), an organization that advocates for parental rights at the local and state levels and has been a constant thorn in the side of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Vaughn spoke to Fox News Digital about California's recently passed bill, AB 1955, which would prohibit educators from informing parents if their child changes their pronouns, name or gender identity at school.
Governor Newsom's school gender identity law would 'have teachers lie to parents,' parents' rights group says
Vaughn argues that the law is an infringement of parental rights.
“I think AB 1955 in California is one of the worst bills I've ever seen because it prohibits parents from getting notice or information about things like their child's gender identity change in school,” she said. “So it completely prohibits educators, teachers, schools from informing parents about any changes in their child. And it promotes secrecy, it removes all information from parents, and it creates files, secret files, on parents even at the school level.”
Amy Vaughn, co-founder and president of PERK. (Fox News Digital)
Supporters of the bill say students have a right to privacy. The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Chris Ward, a Democrat who represents San Diego, argues that the bill would give students “the dignity to decide when to share the most private information about themselves.”
Vaughn said minors do not have the legal capacity to consent to such decisions.
“I think the issue is that children don't have the capacity to consent. Minors need to grow and develop, and their brains aren't fully developed until they're 25. That's the science. To even think that a child has the capacity to consent to something like this without parental permission is why consent laws exist,” she said. “Parents are there to guide and protect their children and make sure they're not being exploited or taken advantage of. I think what he's saying is complete nonsense, to be honest.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom signs bill banning schools from informing parents of their child's gender identity
Vaughn said he believes the bill has Governor Newsom's support for reasons of political expediency.
California Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Honestly, I think Governor Newsom wants to pass this into law because I think this is a political move. And one of the problems with this bill is he's using kids for this political game, this political agenda,” she said. “I don't think he's concerned or cared about kids. And I think in California, as a PERK, we've seen Governor Newsom infringe on parental rights.”
While AB 1955 has been a big issue for PERK this year, the organization has also been active in other public policy fights related to education policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vaughn has been a vocal opponent of making vaccinations mandatory in school districts.
Walz's “freedom” message clashes with his record of closing schools and mandating masks indoors because of the coronavirus.
“I don't think schools should be mandating vaccinations because it's a medical procedure. It's something that should be controlled by parents and doctors,” she said. “We've actually seen vaccine mandates in California, including COVID mandates, and they were illegal. They circumvented the legislative process and [state] “Health Department”
PERK was involved in a lawsuit challenging such policies.
“We fought it. We sued. And, by the way, we won that lawsuit,” Vaughn said. “I don't think mandates belong anywhere in our society, because if we're supposed to be free, mandates are totally inappropriate. [the] It is the exact opposite of the principles of the Constitution.”
Vaughn and PERK have also battled Governor Newsom and teachers unions over coronavirus lockdowns.
The California State Capitol in Sacramento. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images via National Urban League)
“From the moment we heard Governor Newsom say he had two weeks to slow the spread and close the schools, we looked at each other and [we knew] “This is going to take more than a year,” she said. “Within two weeks, we sent a letter to Governor Newsom and lawmakers saying, 'This is bad policy, and you can already see how this will harm our children.'”
“These lockdown measures should not be imposed, particularly on children, so we immediately began opposing them at the highest level, and engaging parents in opposing them by saying: 'This is the status quo. This is the negative impact this is having on your families, on your children, on their education, on their learning and the decline that we were expecting to see,” he added.
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PERK has been credited with leading local protests and school board activism in the wake of extended school closures.
“So we've actually invited a lot of parents and stakeholders to school board meetings to urge the schools to reopen as soon as possible. We've done surveys. We've filed lawsuits. We've done a lot in that area to get the schools to reopen,” Vaughn said. “And we're actively working on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of families and children who need the schools to reopen.”
Newsom's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
