Reaction to New California Law Banning Schools Notify Parents of Child’s Pronoun Change
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that bans rules requiring schools to notify parents of a child's gender identity or sexual orientation without the child's permission.
Supporters of the law say it will help protect LGBTQ+ students who are living in unsafe households, but opponents say this will hinder a school's ability to be transparent with parents.
News Channel 3's Luis Avila talked with the LGBTQ Center in Palm Springs, the Coachella Valley Teacher's Association, and parents regarding their views on the new law that passed just yesterday.
Greg Wurz opened up about his thoughts on the new law as a parent to a transgender person.
“I mean [I am] a little conflicted... on one hand, I want to know what my kid is up to and everything but I also know that if the kid has a reason to feel that they’re not able to tell their parents... for any reason, they’re a better judge of that than the school.”
As a parent, Wurz believes that this conversation should be left outside of the classroom altogether for the safety of the children.
"If it's to that point...there is something wrong in that relationship and that's not really the school's place to get involved in something like that," says Wurz.
For parents like Greg, having open and understanding conversations with their children are the most important.
“At the end of the day, it’s the kid’s life, as long as… it’s not something where they are hurting themselves or hurting other people. We just have to guide them and have relationships with them," Wurz points out. "Hopefully [we] make it to the point where our kids do feel they can talk to us, even if it’s something they think we don’t agree with.”
The LGBTQ Community Center in Palm Springs agrees that the right to release personal information such as gender identity and sexual orientation should be left to the child, not to the school.
“What this bill does is actually ensures that extremely personal and important conversations like gender identity remain private and can remain in the home," commented Lex Ortega, Director of Community Programs at the LGBTQ Center of the Desert.
Ortega believes that the new law will not only create a safe and supportive environment at schools, but will also allow teachers to focus harder on their jobs.
“What policies did before was actually insert teachers into what really should be private conversations," states Ortega. "So this makes clear that teachers are supported in doing their jobs in creating safe and supportive learning environments so students can actually be educated…”
The Coachella Valley Teachers Association responded to News Channel 3 regarding the new law in a statement saying: "This will not actually change anything for us as educators- but it does extend protections for our students' rights to privacy in these matters."
