State AG Rob Bonta denounces Murrieta Valley School Board gender ‘outing’ policy
State Attorney General Rob Bonta today denounced the Murrieta Valley School Board's decision to implement a mandatory gender identity disclosure policy similar to one adopted in Chino Valley last month that prompted a civil-rights investigation.
The Murrieta Valley policy, adopted by the board Thursday night in a 3-2 decision following a lengthy and often-divisive public hearing, essentially requires school staffers to inform parents if a student is transgender. The policy requires notification when a student:
-- requests to be identified or treated as a gender other than their biological sex;
-- accesses sex-segregated school programs and activities that don't align with their biological sex, or
-- requests to change information contained in their official or unofficial records.
The policy was proposed by school board President Paul Diffley and clerk Nicolas Pardue. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times prior to the vote, Diffley said, "As a parent, I would want to know about everything that concerns my child's mental health and physical health while they're at school.
I don't think there should be anything hidden because I have a fundamental right as a parent to bring up my child."
Opponents, however, decried the policy as a violation of students' rights, particularly those who don't feel safe discussing gender issues with their parents. Board member Nancy Young, who voted against the policy, called it discriminatory and a violation of state law. She also said it threatens to exacerbate and already higher-than-normal suicide rate among transgender students.
Bonta, in a statement Friday, called the policy harmful to the well- being of LGBTQ+ students.
"I am deeply disturbed to learn another school district has put at risk the safety and privacy of transgender and gender nonconforming students by adopting a forced outing policy,'' Bonta said in a statement. "My office remains committed to ensuring school policies do not target or seek to discriminate against California's most vulnerable communities. California will not stand for violations of our students' civil rights."
Bonta said that the well-being of transgender students relies critically on protecting their ability to choose how and when to inform others, as they are exposed to high levels of harassment and mistreatment in school and their communities.
The attorney general last week announced that his office was opening a civil-rights investigation into the Chino Valley Unified School District for potential legal violations due to an identical gender identity disclosure policy.
