California School District Considers Outing Transgender Students to Parents

A California school district is considering a proposal that would require teachers to out transgender students to their parents, going against guidance from the state's education department.

The Sacramento Bee first reported the proposal by the Chino Valley Unified School District, and in a statement, District Board President Sonja Shaw told Newsweek, "This policy is meant to foster trust between district employees, and our students' parents and guardians. I stand for the authority of parents to guide the upbringing of their children and their involvement in decisions related to their education, health, safety, and wellbeing.

"Schools should never keep secrets from parents, nor put teachers in a position where they have to lie to them," the statement added.

The proposal in the Chino Valley Unified School District comes amid ongoing criticism of transgender people and attacks against companies who have supported the LGBTQ+ community by conservatives. Several companies such as Bud Light, Target and Kohl's have faced conservative boycotts due to LGBTQ+ items being sold during Pride Month, which began on June 1.

Additionally, several states have introduced legislation that seeks to ban transgender surgery for children. In May, Missouri passed legislation that bans gender-affirming surgery and other medical care such as hormone blockers for children in the state.

While the Chino Valley Unified School District Board President said they stand by the proposal, it goes against guidance from the California Department of Education.

On the California Department of Education website, there is a FAQ page for Assembly Bill 1266 which states that teachers in the state should not out a transgender student to their parents.

"Revealing a student's gender identity or expression to others may compromise the student's safety. Thus, preserving a student's privacy is of the utmost importance," the FAQ page says. "The right of transgender students to keep their transgender status private is grounded in California's antidiscrimination laws as well as federal and state laws. Disclosing that a student is transgender without the student's permission may violate California's antidiscrimination law by increasing the student's vulnerability to harassment and may violate the student's right to privacy."

A spokesperson for the California Department of Education told Newsweek that the department and state Superintendent Tony Thurmond "stand in support of our students and stand with this guidance, which promotes the goals of reducing the stigmatization of and improving the educational integration of transgender and gender nonconforming students, maintaining the privacy of all students, and supporting healthy communication between educators, students, and parents to further the successful educational development and well-being of every student."

In 2022, the Trevor Project conducted a national survey on "LGBTQ Youth Mental Health" which found that less than one-third of "transgender and nonbinary youth found their home to be gender-affirming."

The survey also found that youth members of the LGBTQ community that considered their school to be "LGBTQ-affirming" had lower rates of attempted suicide.

Update 6/15/23, 9:23 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information from the California Department of Education.