A California judge on Wednesday halted a Southern California school district's policy that requires parents be notified if their children change their gender identification or pronouns at school.
The ruling was issued after Chino Valley Unified, about 35 miles east of Los Angeles, adopted the policy following a shift in leadership on the school board. Other Southern California districts have adopted similar policies.
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Garza ruled after California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Chino Valley Unified School District for adopting a policy requiring schools to tell parents when their children change their pronouns or use a bathroom of a gender other than the one listed on their official paperwork.
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“Today’s decision by the San Bernardino Superior Court rightfully upholds the state rights of our LGBTQ+ students and protects kids from harm by immediately halting the board’s forced outing policy,” Bonta said in a statement.
Garza’s order halts the district’s policy while Bonta’s lawsuit continues. Full details of the order and Garza’s reasoning were not immediately available.
Bonta said his office will continue to challenge the policy in court. The next court hearing on the issue was scheduled for Oct. 13.
The policies have sparked divisions in communities between those who say parents have a right to know the decisions their children are making at school and those who say that such policies would forcibly out transgender students to their parents and threaten the well-being of some of the most vulnerable students.
The fight over the proposed school district policies in Southern California come as states across the country are battling over transgender rights through efforts to impose bans on gender-affirming care, bar trans athletes from girls and women’s sports, and require schools to “out” trans and nonbinary students to their parents.
