A San Bernardino Supreme Court judge ruled Wednesday that the Chino Valley Unified School District must hold off on enforcing a new policy requiring district officials to notify parents if they become aware that a student is gender nonconforming or transgender. is.

Judge Tom Garza granted the state of California’s request for a temporary restraining order. A hearing is scheduled for October. 13 to further discuss the issue.

The ruling is the latest in a standoff set in the Golden State that pits state leaders against conservative-leaning school districts over LGBTQ+ issues.

Teaching children works best when engaged parents and caring teachers work together to create a safe space for all children to learn, Kristi Hirst, a parent and former teacher at Chino Valley Unified School, said in a statement. These policies damage trust between parents, teachers and students and expose our most vulnerable students.

Chino Valley school district’s plan to notify parents if children are nonbinary or transgender sparks debate

Earlier this year, the Chino Valley Unified District became the first in the state to pass a policy requiring schools to notify parents if a student identifies as a gender other than the one assigned at birth. The Chino Valley ruling created a ripple effect, affecting school boards across the state, from Anderson Union High School District in Shasta County to Orange Unified School District in Orange County.

Chino Valley policy requires district staff to notify parents in writing within three days if they notice a student using names, pronouns, or changing areas, such as bathrooms, that do not match their biological sex. It was inspired by Assemblyman Bill Essaylis (R-Corona) failed a bill requiring state school districts to notify parents if their child was gender nonconforming or transgender.

Chino Valley is the latest district to raise LGBTQ+ issues at school meetings. It first restricted which flags could be displayed in classrooms, such as the flags of the US and California. Rainbow flags, which show support for LGBTQ+ rights, are not allowed. It then proposed its ‘parent notification policy’.

The controversial policy prompted Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta warned the school district in a letter in July that legal action could be taken if the proposal goes ahead because the policy is likely to be illegal and endanger transgender students.

The following month, Secretary of State for Public Instruction Tony Thurmond was interrupted by Chino Valley Unified Board Chair Sonja Shaw during the meeting’s public comment period.

Bonta opens investigation into Chino Valley school district policy to notify parents of LGBTQ+ students

Months later, Bonta announced he would open a civil rights investigation into Chino Valley and then file a lawsuit against the district.

I refuse to allow and allow Chino Valley or any county government to endanger or violate our children’s rights, especially not one of our most vulnerable at-risk groups, Bonta said announcing the lawsuit at a recent press conference. in Los Angeles. Across the country and in our own backyard, the LGBTQ+ community is under attack, with transgender and gender nonconforming students on the front line.

Essayli, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, challenged Bonta’s legal arguments and demanded that the Attorney General specify which laws were being broken.

After passionate debate from both sides, constitutional experts have said the legal reality of such policies is more nuanced than how it is presented.