
CV NEWS FEED // Schools in California’s Chino Valley and a group of parents have filed a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in protest of a new pro-LGBT law undermining parental rights.
The lawsuit challenges a bill Newsom signed on July 15 that prohibits educators in the state from notifying parents if their children begin to socially transition at school.
Under the new law, employees of school districts, county education offices, charter schools, or state special schools cannot tell parents if their children wish to use different names, pronouns, or single-sex spaces. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2025.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the Chino Valley Unified School District filed the lawsuit against Newsom on July 16, arguing that the state cannot undermine parental rights. The lawsuit also argues that the law violates the First and 14th Amendments as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The school district is represented by Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit law firm.
“School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school,” Liberty Justice Center senior attorney Emily Rae stated in a news release, adding:
Parents are the legal guardians of their children, not Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta, or Superintendent Thurmond. We will continue to defend parents’ rights and children’s well-being by challenging invasive laws like AB 1955 in court.
Rae also highlighted that pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, “most of whom are too young to drive, vote, or provide medical consent for themselves, are also too young to make life-altering decisions about their expressed gender identity without their parents’ knowledge.”
The Los Angeles Daily News reported that Newsom’s office responded to the lawsuit in an email on July 17, calling it a “deeply unserious lawsuit, seemingly designed to stoke the dumpster fire formerly known as Twitter rather than surface legitimate legal claims.”
Newsom’s office additionally claimed that the law “preserves the child-parent relationship,” since parents will still have access to their children’s school records consistent with federal law. The office also pointed out that minors can’t legally change their name or gender without parental consent under California law.
Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley School Board, maintained that the law undermines the parental right to be involved in their children’s decisions at school.
“Who in their right mind thinks it’s a good idea to create and pass laws that make it illegal for parents to be part of their child’s educational experience?” Shaw asked. “The morally corrupt political cartel of Thurmond, Bonta, and Newsom. Remember their names, their unions, and special interest groups, and the harm they have done to families when you vote.”
Shaw continued:
Regardless of death threats and attempts to silence us, we will not give in, and families will walk away winning in the end. Every parent in California is now aware of this betrayal and will rise to challenge it.
The Murrieta Valley Unified School District reportedly said that it would consider joining Chino Valley’s lawsuit, calling the law “another attempt to devalue and erase the family and impose state rules and complete control over everything that schools do.”
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the state of California has 21 days after being served to respond to the lawsuit.
