California Judge Nixes School Forced Outing Policy, But Allows Workaround
The ruling overturned a forced outing policy that explicitly targeted gender identity, but allowed a policy to stand that mandated disclosure of all "official or unofficial" records.
In a mixed ruling for transgender students and their right to privacy, a California judge has blocked a school district's policy that would have required educators to forcibly out transgender students to their parents in San Bernardino County. The ruling, which mostly went against Chino Valley Unified School District, means that the school will no longer be able to violate transgender students rights to equal protection based on their transgender status alone when it comes to forced outing policies. However, the school’s attempt to get around those policies by requiring notification on all “official and unofficial” school records is allowed to stand, and the judge ruled that students do not have a right to privacy with respect to gender identity more generally.
The original policy would have required a transgender student’s parents be notified if they requested to use a different name or pronoun or use a bathroom that differed from their assigned sex at birth.
You can see the original policy here:
The policy was then updated after the initiation of a lawsuit against the school districts to strike parts (a) and (b), keeping part (c) in effect.
The judge explicitly ruled that parts (a) and (b) were unconstitutional under California law: “Since it is undisputed that there is nothing wrong or pathological with being transgender or gender non-conforming in and of itself, the old policy in this case is not narrowly tailored. This is true because the district could have adopted a policy which focused on the existing problems (bullying, mental health, psychological distress, any drastic behavior changes, etc.) instead of focusing on the protected group,” said the judge.
However, the policy was subsequently revised to remove references to gender identity, keeping only the requirement that parents be notified of all changes to “official or unofficial” school records. Despite the state’s argument that this section of the policy was enacted with animus and would still achieve the same goals as the original provisions that targeted transgender individuals, the judge allowed it to remain in effect—even acknowledging this point. As a result, the school district’s policies are still likely to lead to the outing of transgender youth to their parents.
The judge, in affirming the workaround, ruled that students do not have a right to privacy regarding their gender identity, stating, “The minor students do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy against mandated disclosure to parents as to the specific requests and conduct implicated by the policy.” This effectively allows the school to enforce forced outing in a more “neutral” manner, approving part of the policy as a way to get around to the equal protection rights of transgender students.
See this section of the ruling here:
Most reporting indicated that this was a victory for transgender students and the state. The State AG Rob Bonta weighed in, stating, “The Superior Court permanently halted Chino Valley Unified’s Forced Outing Policy. This is a win for transgender and gender nonconforming students across the state. Let this send a clear message: discriminatory policies will not be tolerated in our educational institutions.”
However, the school board president Sonja Shaw responded, stating that “Recently, the court ruled that while we cannot notify parents if a child changes their gender, we can still inform them about changes to both official and unofficial records. We are disappointed with parts of the ruling and plan to appeal, but Rob Bonta is attempting to gaslight the public about its true impact.”
Schools attempting to enforce similar policies in a more “neutral” fashion across the United States have led to unintended consequences and odd outcomes. For example, in Florida, many schools now seek parental consent every time a student updates their nickname in class. Likewise, Spotsylvania County Public Schools require parental notification for many nickname changes.
The ruling is likely to be appealed to higher courts in the state, where all portions of the policy will be ruled on. Likewise, the school district is currently challenging a separate law, AB 1955, which more explicitly prevents forced outing of transgender students to their parents and likely will separately block the school district’s forced outing policy. That law is expected to go into effect on January 1, 2025.
"Okay, so you can still Do the Thing, you just have to obfuscate the fact that you're Doing the Thing. If you Do the Thing and 𝘴𝘢𝘺 you're Doing the Thing, it's illegal; if you Do the Thing but say you're Doing a 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 Thing that still accomplishes the 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 Thing, it's okay. Got it? Good."
SMDH...
Some people really believe one's offspring are indentured to their parents until their 18th birthday, or something like that - they need to realize that that's called controlling behavior, it's abuse. If a teacher is required to out a student like that, the implication is that the parents have some innate right to know even though that could lead to domestic distress or violence. Shame on those who would encourage such outcomes. Fortunately, the courts have tended to do the right thing, but we're a long way from, once and for all, resolving this. But Erin's journalism is a big way to keep up the fight. Thank you, Erin, once again.