During summer break of 2023, the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) was making headlines on national television stations such as CBS News, Fox News, and even local channels like KTLA, due to one singular reason. Currently the nation is split on how the district should handle notifying parents about transgender or gender non-conforming students and if parents should even be informed at all.

A bill was proposed to California that would require all staff to be mandated to report any change in name, pronoun, and gender identity to parents, regardless of parental ideologies of the transgender community. CVUSD voted 4-1 in favor of passing the bill. (See https://dalquestnews.org/23275/news/cvusd-school-board-discussion-of-assembly-bill-1314-april-6-2023/ for more detailed information)

Despite the bill never passing in California, CVUSD was the first school district to pass its own policy on the matter, forcing teachers and staff to out transgender students to family. As of August 16th, the Temecula and Murrieta Valley Unified School District, or the MVUSD, as well as the Anderson Union High School District, have now passed a similar policy requiring teachers and staff to out transgender students to families.

On August 28th, 2023 California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against the CVUSD policies in place. The policy allegedly violated California’s Equal protection clause, California’s Education and Government Code, and California’s constitutional right to privacy. At the announcement Bonta stated, “Every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity – regardless of their gender identity.”

In response to the lawsuit, recently elected CVUSD Board President Sonja Shaw stated, “I’m proud of our district. We’re going to continue to put our feet in the sand and we’re not going to give up.” Shaw was asked if any LGBTQ organizations support the policy and responded, “I wouldn’t say organizations, but there’s definitely people who are in that community that are supportive and behind us”.

Many students, parents, and government officials have mixed emotions on the lawsuit. An anonymous Don Lugo student states, “If a student is telling a teacher then there is probably a good reason for why the student is not telling their parents or guardians.” and many share the same sentiment on the topic.

As of September 6th, a California Judge ordered that until the lawsuit is over the CVUSD cannot put the policy in place, and it will not be active.