Education
California Attorney General Seeks to Block Transgender Notification Policy
Why It Matters: The lawsuit puts other districts on notice.
The Chino Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County recently began requiring that parents be notified when their child asks to use a name or pronoun that does not align with the child’s birth certificate, or seeks to use a bathroom assigned to a different gender.
Mr. Bonta is seeking not only to stop that policy, but also taking aim at three other districts in California that are trying to follow suit. The attorney general, a Democrat, said the policies amounted to the “forced outing” of transgender students.
Although the number of young people who identify as transgender in the United States remains small, it has nearly doubled in recent years, and schools have come under pressure to protect the privacy and safety of students who are changing their gender identities. This has led to backlash from conservative groups, as well as from some parents who say that such protections infringe on their own rights to know what their children are requesting at school.
Background: The issue has become contentious even in parts of California.
The issue has inspired conservative legal groups to file a number of lawsuits against school districts across the country and has prompted a campaign by religious conservatives to promote “parental rights” candidates for nonpartisan local school board seats. In California, a state dominated by Democrats, only a handful of districts have pursued policies similar to the one enacted by Chino Valley Unified, which serves suburbs about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.
The other districts include Anderson Union High School District in Northern California and the Murrieta Valley and Temecula Valley school districts in the Inland Empire.
The Chino Valley school board approved its policy during a contentious meeting in July in which the state superintendent of public instruction, Tony Thurmond, was ousted from the board chambers after he criticized the measure. The Chino Valley school board president, Sonja Shaw, rebuked Mr. Thurmond at the meeting and charged that the state’s liberal leaders were “pushing perversion on our children in every possible way.” Ms. Shaw, who was elected last year, is the effort’s most vocal backer.
What’s Next: An initial court decision could come within days.
Mr. Bonta filed his lawsuit in San Bernardino Superior Court asking for a temporary injunction against the Chino Valley policy and seeking a permanent order blocking it. He argues that the policy violates the California Constitution because it discriminates against transgender students, denies their right to education and violates their right to privacy.
He said at a news conference on Monday that he expected a hearing this week on his injunction request.
In a statement, Mr. Bonta said that the Chino Valley policy “wrongfully endangers the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of nonconforming students who lack an accepting environment in the classroom and at home.” The lawsuit, he added, serves as a “message” that “we will never stop fighting for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ students.”
“Bring it,” Ms. Shaw retorted in a text message to The New York Times on Monday. “This is another ploy to stop all the districts around California from adopting a common sense legal policy. We will stand our ground and protect our children with all we can because we are not breaking the law.”
Education
Video: President Biden Addresses Campus Protests
new video loaded: President Biden Addresses Campus Protests
transcript
transcript
President Biden Addresses Campus Protests
President Biden defended the right of demonstrators to protest peacefully, but condemned the “chaos” that has prevailed at many colleges nationwide.
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Violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is. It’s against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations — none of this is a peaceful protest. Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others, so students can finish the semester and their college education. There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos. People have the right to get an education, the right to get a degree, the right to walk across the campus safely without fear of being attacked. But let’s be clear about this as well. There should be no place on any campus — no place in America — for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students. There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans. It’s simply wrong. There’s no place for racism in America.
Recent episodes in Politics
Education
Where Protesters on U.S. Campuses Have Been Arrested or Detained
Police officers and university administrators have clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters on a growing number of college campuses in recent weeks, arresting students, removing encampments and threatening academic consequences. More than 2,000 people have been arrested or detained on campuses across the country.
The fresh wave of student activism against the war in Gaza was sparked by the arrests of at least 108 protesters at Columbia University on April 18, after administrators appeared before Congress and promised a crackdown. Since then, tensions between protesters, universities and the police have risen, prompting law enforcement to take action in some of America’s largest cities.
Education
Video: Johnson Condemns Pro-Palestinian Protests at Columbia University
new video loaded: Johnson Condemns Pro-Palestinian Protests at Columbia University
transcript
transcript
Johnson Condemns Pro-Palestinian Protests at Columbia University
House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered brief remarks at Columbia University on Wednesday, demanding White House action and invoking the possibility of bringing in the National Guard to quell the pro-Palestinian protests. Students interrupted his speech with jeers.
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“A growing number of students have chanted in support of terrorists. They have chased down Jewish students. They have mocked them and reviled them. They have shouted racial epithets. They have screamed at those who bear the Star of David.” [Crowd chanting] “We can’t hear you.” [clapping] We can’t hear you.” “Enjoy your free speech. My message to the students inside the encampment is get — go back to class and stop the nonsense. My intention is to call President Biden after we leave here and share with him what we have seen with our own two eyes and demand that he take action. There is executive authority that would be appropriate. If this is not contained quickly, and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard. We have to bring order to these campuses. We cannot allow this to happen around the country.”
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