Los Angeles, Ca
Southern California school district changes gender-identity policy after lawsuit
A Southern California school district sued by the state has updated its policy requiring staff to notify parents that a student is using a different pronoun or bathroom designated for another gender and now will only mention that a child has requested a change to their student records.
The Chino Valley Unified School District board approved the updated policy on Thursday as the district fights a lawsuit filed by Democratic state Attorney General Rob Bonta, who called the original policy discriminatory. Bonta on Friday did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the board’s decision.
The policy maintains part of the original rule requiring staff to notify parents within three days of their child requesting any changes to their “official or unofficial records,” although it does not specify what that would include. All references to gender identification changes have been removed from the policy.
LGBTQ+ advocates said the new mandate is simply a legal loophole to repackage the same policy that continues to violate the rights of students.
“They’re just broadening the scope so that they don’t obviously single that population out,” said Kristi Hirst, who co-founded the public education advocacy group Our Schools USA. “But the intent behind it, in my opinion, is no different.”
Both Chino’s original and updated policies include other scenarios in which school staff would have to notify parents, such as when their child is significantly injured at school. But schools already were required to report when a child’s safety is threatened.
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Hundreds attended a heated Chino Valley school board meeting as a controversial policy requiring parental notification of any transgender children passed with a 4-1 vote on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) -
Hundreds attended a heated Chino Valley school board meeting as a controversial policy requiring parental notification of any transgender children passed with a 4-1 vote on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) -
Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, spoke against the policy at a board meeting with the Chino Valley Unified School District on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) -
Hundreds attended a heated Chino Valley school board meeting as a controversial policy requiring parental notification of any transgender children passed with a 4-1 vote on July 20, 2023. (KTLA) -
Student voices criticism of the controversial policy at an April 2023 meeting. The policy would require parental notification of transgender students in the Chino Unified Valley School District. (Chino Unified Valley School District)
The battle at the district in Chino, a city about 32 miles (52 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, is part of a nationwide debate over local school districts and the rights of parents and LGBTQ+ students. States across the country have sought 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. Some lawmakers in other states have introduced bills in their legislatures with broad language requiring that parents be notified of any changes to their child’s emotional health or well-being.
In California, proponents of the notification policies are trying to get a measure on the November ballot to require schools to notify parents if a child asks to change their gender identification at school, bar transgender girls in grades 7 and up from participating in girls sports, and ban gender-affirming care for minors.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom garnered attention last year when he threatened to fine another Southern California district, Temecula Valley Unified, for rejecting an elementary school social studies curriculum that included supplementary material mentioning politician and gay rights advocate Harvey Milk. The district later reversed course.
The Chino Valley Unified board introduced its policy last summer after a Republican lawmaker was not able to advance legislation in the state Legislature, which is dominated by Democrats, requiring school staff to notify parents about their child’s request for a gender identification change.
Chino Valley Unified school board President Sonja Shaw, who helped craft the original policy, said before the vote on Thursday that the board is committed to upholding the rights of parents and prioritizing the well-being of students.
“This new policy strikes a balance between these two important principles, ensuring that parents are kept informed every step of the way,” Shaw said in a statement.
Teachers, parents and advocates who oppose the school board policy say it could put students’ safety at risk if they live in abusive households. Andrea McFarland, a high school English teacher for Chino Valley Unified, said the policy the board approved last year was unfair to teachers.
“I don’t want to be put in that place to have to choose between potentially putting a child in an unsafe position when they walk in the door at home,” McFarland said. “I don’t know what they’re walking into.”
She said the updated policy is unclear about what would be considered “unofficial records,” a term she hasn’t heard used in her 13 years as an educator.
A judge last year halted part of the policy that required schools to tell parents if their child asks to change their gender identification. He did not grant the state’s attempt in October to block another part of the policy requiring schools to notify parents about a child’s request to make changes to information in their student records.
Emily Rae, a lawyer representing the district, said the board decided to consider the updated policy in response to the judge’s rulings so far in the case.
“The district still believes the existing policy is legally defensible and constitutional,” she said in a statement.
She cited a recent ruling over a similar notification policy at Temecula Valley Unified, where a judge allowed the district to require school staff to notify parents if their child asks to change their gender identification at school.
The future of voice to text is here.
I’ve been testing a variety of tools that make taking notes, transcribing audio, and even voice typing faster and easier than ever.
If you have a smartphone, you’re already halfway there!
Google’s Pixel Recorder app is free and built into their smartphone. It’s excellent for transcribing meetings, lectures, and conversations – all in real time.
Apple’s Voice Memos App recently added transcriptions if you’re upgraded to iOS 18.
Samsung’s Voice recorder app now offers transcripts too – as long as you’re on their latest One UI 7 software. (Check Settings > About Phone > Software Information)
Got an older phone? Try Otter.AI. It works great for transcriptions across devices and you get 300 minutes a month free.
Don’t want to tie up your phone?
I’ve been testing AI-powered digital audio recorders from a startup named Plaud.
The Plaud Note is thin, records for hours, and can even clip to the back of your phone to record calls. Just make sure you know your local laws before using that feature.
The Plaud Pin can be clipped to your shirt or worn on your wrist for hands-free recording.
Both devices sync audio to a companion app that auto transcribes and summarizes.
You get five hours of transcription a month included, with options to pay for more.
Pricing for each gadget starts around $160 dollars.
Want to transcribe audio files on your computer?
My favorite Mac app is MacWhisper. You can even get it completely free – although paid versions are avaialble with more features and options.
On Windows, check out Vibe Transcribe, also free.
And for a web-based option, Whisper Web gets the job done.
Finally, if you want to type less and talk more… there’s an excellent AI voice-to-text app called Wispr Flow. It was previously Mac only but just became avaialble for Windows, too.
One you install it, you pick a hotkey. Then, instead of typing just press and hold down that key and dictate what you want to write.
Since it uses the power of AI, you can even stumble or ramble and it will clean up your words and get the punctionation right.
It’s a gamechanger for responding to emails fast! You get 2,000 words free each week with options to pay for more.
Enjoy your newfound time!
An alleged attack on a state prison officer by a 43-year-old inmate transferred from Los Angeles County is being investigated as attempted homicide, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials announced Tuesday.
The March 18 incident at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad reportedly unfolded just before 9 a.m. on what authorities describe as a “dayroom floor.”
The inmate, Anthony G. Ramirez, is believed to have pulled an improvised weapon from his waistband before attempting to attack custody staff member, according to a CDCR news release.
“Staff immediately responded, disarming Ramirez and placing him in handcuffs without incident,” the release detailed.
The 43-year-old, who was transferred to SVSP in 2008 after being sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder, with enhancements for the use of a firearm and causing great bodily injury or death, was placed in restrictive housing pending the investigation and possible felony prosecution by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
Both Ramirez and the custody staff member were examined by medical personnel who noted no serious injuries.
Officials said that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association was notified of the incident and prison staff were offered peer support services and employee assistance programs.
Salinas Valley State Prison, opened in 1996, houses more than 2,400 minimum, medium, maximum and high-security inmates. The facility also offers vocational programs and academic classes and employs some 1,800 people.
A toxic algal bloom leaving an increasing number of marine mammals stranded along Southern California beaches shows no signs of subsiding and “will only get worse,” officials said Monday.
“This week, we saw more stranded dolphins (both alive and deceased) than we saw during the major domoic acid (DA) bloom in 2023,” Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) Los Angeles posted on Facebook.
Recent tests showed DA-producing algae levels have increased, and officials believe that trend will continue in the coming weeks. “We anticipate that it will only get worse,” the post read.
MMCC asked the public not to approach sick dolphins or sea lions on the beach because they can become aggressive upon awakening from a seizure.
“This is a safety issue for people and their pets as much as it is for the marine mammals,” officials said.
Beachgoers were also urged not to push stranded dolphins back into the water, saying it can reduce their chances of survival.
More information about domoic-acid poisoning can be found at https://marinemammalcare.org/domoic-acid/.
The volume of sick marine mammals has also had a financial impact on the MMCC.
“Our team is working heroically to respond to every call and to rescue every animal they can. Please share this post and give now at marinemammalcare.org/donate to give these marine mammals a second chance at life!” the MMCC stated.
Anyone who encounters a sick or stranded marine mammal can alert the nearest lifeguard and call 1-800-39-WHALE to make a report.
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