{"id":166477,"date":"2023-09-07T11:01:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T18:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=166477"},"modified":"2023-09-07T11:01:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T18:01:09","slug":"attorney-general-bonta-says-parental-notification-endangers-lgbtq-students-civil-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=166477","title":{"rendered":"Attorney General Bonta Says Parental Notification Endangers LGBTQ+ Students\u2019 Civil Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sacramento, CA…California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement following the Rocklin Unified School District\u00a0School Board\u2019s\u00a0(Board)\u00a0decision to implement a mandatory gender identity disclosure policy targeting transgender and gender-nonconforming students on September 6, 2023. Similar to other forced outing policies recently enacted by certain school districts, the policy requires schools to inform parents, with minimal exceptions, whenever a student requests to use a name or pronoun different from that on their birth certificate or official records, even without the student\u2019s permission. The policy also requires notification if a student requests to use facilities or participates in programs that don’t align with their sex on official records. The vote\u00a0comes after\u00a0Attorney General Rob Bonta\u00a0sent a letter<\/a>\u00a0to the Board cautioning them of the dangers of adopting its forced outing policy, emphasizing the potential infringements on students’ civil rights and educational opportunities.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite our ongoing commitment to stand against any actions that target and discriminate against California\u2019s 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,\u201d\u00a0said Attorney General Bonta.<\/b>\u00a0\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Attorney General has a substantial interest in protecting the legal rights, physical safety, and mental health of children in California schools, and in protecting them from trauma, harassment, bullying, and exposure to violence and threats of violence. Research shows that protecting a transgender student\u2019s ability to make choices about how and when to inform others is critical to their well-being, as transgender students are exposed to high levels of harassment and mistreatment at school and in their communities when those environments are not supportive of their gender identity.<\/p>\n