LOS ANGELES, Calif. (CN) — Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing the Chino Valley Unified School District over its transgender policy, saying it forces the “outing” of vulnerable students and violates state law.
The suit, announced Monday by Bonta in a press conference, targets the San Bernardino County district over its decision to notify parents if their child asks teachers or other school staff to use a name or pronoun that’s different than the one given at birth.
“Let’s call this policy what it is,” Bonta said. “It is a forced outing policy.”
The legal action is the first time the Attorney General’s Office has sued over a forced gender status disclosure policy in schools, an office spokesperson said.
Bonta said he’s seeking an immediate halt to the policy in San Bernardino Superior Court. No hearing had been scheduled as of Monday afternoon, though Bonta hopes one is set for this week.
The school board on July 20 voted to implement the new policy. It stated that parents and guardians will be told if their child is involved in violence, shows suicidal ideation or asks people to identify them by something other than their birth-assigned gender.
Bonta responded by saying the policy could violate the state’s anti-discrimination law and a student’s right to privacy. He added that his office would investigate the school district’s decision, saying the new policy requires disclosure even if it’s against a student’s wishes, exposes them to parental abuse, or increases the risk of harming themselves or suicide.
On Monday, Bonta said his office’s investigation determined that the policy does, in fact, discriminate against transgender and nonconforming students, violating their civil rights. The policy singles out students who use names or pronouns that differ from what’s on their birth certificates, a violation of the state’s equal protection clause. It also violates anti-discrimination protections and privacy rights.
“It tramples on students’ rights,” Bonta said.
In the lawsuit, Bonta says the state constitution requires local educational agencies ensure their policies provide equal protection to all students, regardless of gender expression, gender identity or sexual orientation. Additionally, no agency may unlawfully discriminate against a protected class of students while receiving state funds.
According to Bonta, a 2015 U.S. transgender survey showed that 10% of respondents said an immediate family member had been violent toward them over their identity. Fifteen percent ran away from home or were kicked out because they were transgender.
Contacted Monday, Chino Valley Unified School District Board president Sonja Shaw said in an email she wasn’t surprised at the “aggressive stance” the state was taking against people fighting to be involved in their children’s lives.
“Once again this is government overreach and the political cartel of Bonta, (Governor Gavin) Newsom and (State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony) Thurmond is using their muscle and taxpayers’ dollars to shut parents out of their children’s lives,” Shaw said. “We again had to learn firsthand from reporters of their lawsuit. Bonta can’t even cite a law we are breaking in the documents and I find it a joke. He knows better and this is another ploy to stop all the districts around California from adopting a commonsense legal policy. We will stand our ground and protect our children with all we can because we are not breaking the law. Parents have a constitutional right in the upbringing of their children. Period. Bring it.”
Chino Valley is one of a handful of school districts that Bonta said has adopted such policies. He pointed to Anderson, Temecula and Murrieta Valley school districts, saying they’ve implemented copycat, mandatory gender identity disclosure policies against transgender and nonconforming students.
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