A new bill would force California school districts to notify parents that their child is non-conforming or transgender, drawing backlash from LGBTQ+ activists and organizations.

The bill, AB 1314, requires school districts to notify parents in writing within three days of learning that a student identifies as a gender that does not match official records or their birth certificate.

“Parents play a vital role in raising and supporting children and they cannot be removed from the equation,” Member of Parliament

Bill Essayli

(R-Riverside), which sponsored the bill, said at a Monday news conference outside Jurupa Valley High School.

Jessica Tapia

a former teacher at Jurupa Valley High School, said she was fired after refusing to follow the law that prohibits teachers from disclosing students’ gender identities to their parents without their consent.

“I said, ‘Are you asking me to lie?’ And they said, “Yes. It’s the law and it’s for the student’s privacy.”

‘

Tapia said at the press conference. “I can’t understand how the school system seems to think we should pretend to be the parent.”

Tapia plans to sue the Jurupa Unified School District for wrongful termination.

Under California’s anti-discrimination laws

And

federal and state laws, a transgender person or

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According to the California Department of Education, a gender non-conforming student’s identity may not be shared with their parents without the student’s consent.

Because the student may not express their identity at home, revealing their gender identity to their parents may increase their “vulnerability to harassment and violate the student’s right to privacy,” the agency said.

The Center for American Liberty filed a lawsuit in January against the superintendent and school board of Chico Unified School District on behalf of a parent, who said

That

the school transferred her child “behind her mother’s back.”

“

The California Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus released a statement on the bill,

stands

proverb

That

it would put transgender and non-binary students in “potentially life-threatening danger, exposing them to trauma and violence.”

“Teachers should not be forced into the inappropriate position of revealing students’ personal information about their gender identity to anyone.”

according to

the explanation

transferred

.

Executive Director Tony Hoang of Equality California, the county’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, also opposes the bill.

“We want LGBTQ+ students to feel safe talking to their parents about their gender and sexuality, but AB 1314 ignores the reality that not all trans youth have that option,” Hoang said in a statement. “Trans people are more likely to be rejected at home and even abused based on their gender identity, leading to over-representation in foster homes, juvenile detention centers and among displaced youth.”