California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom is being sued by a group over Assembly Bill 1955, which bars schools from notifying parents about their child’s desire to change their sex and be referred to by incorrect pronouns.
Newsom signed the bill into law on July 15.
The bill states, “This bill would prohibit school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and the state special schools, and a member of the governing board or body of those educational entities, from enacting or enforcing any policy, rule, or administrative regulation that requires an employee or a contractor to disclose any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent unless otherwise required by law, as provided. The bill would prohibit employees or contractors of those educational entities from being required to make such a disclosure unless otherwise required by law, as provided.”
“This law is an attack on fundamental parental rights,” America First Legal, which is suing Newsom, stated. “It prevents school districts from requiring parental notification if their child begins to exhibit gender confusion, such as by requesting to be called by a name and pronoun of the opposite sex. The law does not set an age limit—schools cannot notify parents even if preschoolers are being socially ‘transitioned.’ It also prevents schools from disciplining employees who are initiating or facilitating social ‘transitioning,’ which courts have recognized is a type of medical intervention or treatment that medical professionals have recognized can inflict serious short-term and long-term harm.”
“This law violates the 14th Amendment, which guarantees the rights of parents to make decisions about their minor children regarding all medical treatment—in this case, social ‘transitioning,’” America First continued. “Fit parents are presumed to act in the best interest of their child. The government cannot intervene in their relationship simply because it does not like the parents’ decision. Whether a child socially ‘transitions’ or announces their sexuality is a personal and private issue, not an educational issue or one to be decided by the government. The State of California is thus intruding in a very personal, private matter—communication on one of the most intimate of topics between a parent and child—in violation of the U.S. Constitution.”
In September 2022, AFL sued the Eau Claire Area School District, Wisconsin, over its policy of “hiding critical information regarding a child’s health from his or her parents.” In November 2023, AFL sued Mesa Public Schools for promoting “gender transitions” of students without alerting their parents.