California attorney general says Rocklin parent notification policy ‘endangers’ trans students

California Attorney General Rob Bonta condemned the Rocklin Unified School District board of trustees Thursday for its approval of a parental notification policy that would require district staff to inform a student’s parents if their child requests to change their name, gender expression, or pronouns.

“Despite our ongoing commitment to stand against any actions that target and discriminate against California’s transgender and gender-nonconforming youth, Rocklin Unified has chosen to endanger their civil rights by adopting a policy that forcibly outs them without consideration of their safety and well-being,” Bonta said in a statement.

“I have said it before and I will say it again: We will not tolerate any policy that perpetuates discrimination, harassment, or exclusion within our educational institutions.”

Four members of the five-seat board voted in support of the policy after hearing several hours of public comment late Wednesday night, much of which was against the measure. Protesters from the local and state teacher unions, as well as LGBTQ people and supporters, rallied outside the district office before the meeting.

Parents’ rights advocates, many of whom also spoke Wednesday night after standing in line for hours to do so, say the measure simply keeps parents informed of important, life-changing decisions their students are making. Opponents of the measure, including Bonta, say it will harmfully out trans and gender non-conforming students.

Bonta wrote a letter to the RUSD board on Wednesday before the meeting, sharing his “serious concern” with the proposed policy.

“In addition to infringing upon student privacy, forced ‘outing’ of students to their parents is very likely to result in significant emotional, mental, and even physical harm and subject students to discriminatory harassment,” he wrote.

He warned members that he “will not hesitate” to take legal action if they pass the measure — a process his office has already started with the Chino Valley Unified School District in Southern California. The Chino Valley school board passed a similar measure in July, and in August, Bonta filed a lawsuit against the district. On Wednesday afternoon, a San Bernardino Superior Court Judge issued a temporary restraining order against the measure.

“My office has a substantial interest in protecting the legal rights of children in California schools and protecting such children from trauma and exposure to violence,” Bonta wrote to RUSD board. “I will not hesitate to take action as appropriate to vigorously protect students’ civil rights.”

The Sacramento Bee has reached out to RUSD and the Attorney General’s office for comment.