Womenz Magazine

California Court Rules in Favor of Parental Rights in School Record Change Requests, Sparks Debate Over Privacy and Gender Identity Policies

Court Rules in Favor of Parental Rights
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In a significant legal decision, a California court ruled that parents have the right to be notified when their minor children request changes to school records, including gender identity changes, according to the Center Square. This ruling, which could have broad implications for future lawsuits, stems from a case involving the Chino Valley Unified School District’s controversial parental notification policy. The court maintained a preliminary injunction that upheld part of the policy while blocking others, igniting a larger legal battle over student privacy and parental rights.

Last year, Chino Valley Unified implemented a policy requiring parents to be notified if students requested to be identified as a gender not listed on official records, participated in sex-segregated programs for a different gender, or changed any information on their school records. California Attorney General Rob Bonta quickly filed a lawsuit, claiming the policy discriminated against students and violated their privacy rights.

While the court blocked the first two aspects of the policy, which required parental notification for identity changes and participation in sex-segregated programs, it upheld the third part, allowing parents to be notified of any official or unofficial record changes. The court ruled that this portion of the policy was gender-neutral and did not constitute discrimination.

In response to the court’s ruling, the Chino Valley School District removed the blocked portions from its policy and argued that the state’s lawsuit should be dismissed. However, the California Superior Court ruled that the case must proceed due to the public interest in resolving similar legal challenges across the state.

The court’s ruling also addressed the issue of privacy for minors, stating that students under the age of 18 do not have a right to privacy when requesting record changes. The ruling emphasized that parents have a fundamental right to be informed about their children’s school records, especially when it comes to issues like gender identity changes. “Children should not generally expect that school staff will keep secrets in general, keep requests made to them secret from parents,” the court wrote.

Emily Rae, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, which represented Chino Valley pro bono, called the ruling a victory for parental rights. “[This section] requires parents to be notified if students request to change official or unofficial records, so it’s broader than the first two sections… This is ultimately a win for Chino Valley and parents,” Rae told The Center Square.

Attorney General Bonta, however, celebrated the ruling as a win against forced outings, stating, “This ruling… reaffirms this obligation by ensuring no child becomes a target again by blocking Chino Valley Unified from ever adopting another forced outing policy.”

The ruling is expected to impact future legal battles, particularly a lawsuit challenging AB 1955, a new law that bars schools from disclosing a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent, set to go into effect in 2025. School districts across the state, including the Orange County Board of Education, are suing to block the law, arguing that it infringes on parental rights.

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