Global Courant
The Chino Valley Unified School District is at the center of a heated debate among parents after the district proposed a policy requiring teachers and school staff to notify parents if their children are non-conforming or transgender
School board members who support the policy claim it would inform parents about their child’s mental health, but detractors call the proposal an invasion of privacy and an attempt to intimidate students in the LGBTQ+ community.
Chino Valley’s proposed policy change comes as violent protests have erupted outside school board meetings elsewhere over issues such as whether a district should recognize Pride Month or allow students to read about historical LGBTQ+ figures. Vandals burned a transgender flag at North Hollywood’s Saticoy Elementary School last month and a fight broke out between protesters outside the school at a Pride Day rally.
The Chino Valley board introduced the policy mandate Thursday in a raucous, 3½-hour public meeting, where members of the public shouted each other down. Some people waived rainbow and transgender flags, while one person carried a large American flag over his shoulder.
The board introduced the measure on Thursday, but postponed a final vote until July.
Board chairman Sonja Shaw, who introduced the proposal, repeatedly warned the audience not to disrupt the meeting and then had several people turned away. In a post on social mediaShaw said she introduced the resolution to stand with parents and guardians.
“It is wrong to also put our teachers in the position to lie and keep secrets!! School should not be a secret place and should never take the place of family, nor should it ever take away parental decisions,” Shaw wrote in the post.
In April, the board supported Assembly Bill 1314, which was introduced by Assemblymember Bill Essayli (R-Riverside). The legislation would have forced California school districts to notify parents that their child is non-conforming or transgender. Essayli claimed the proposed law would target school districts that recognized a child’s preferred gender without their parents’ knowledge.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for schools to leave parents in the dark,” Essayli told KTTV-TV News shortly before his bill failed to make it to committee.
The Chino Valley District’s proposed policy is modeled on the Assembly bill.
The proposed mandate requires school staff to notify parents within three days if a student asks to be identified as having a gender not on the birth certificate. That also applies if a student asks for a different name or preferred pronoun that is not in the official school records.
The district also wants parents to be notified if a student attempts to use a bathroom that does not match the gender listed on the school’s records, or if the student attempts to play on a sports team that has been segregated for a opposite sex, the district said. proposed policy. Parents are also notified if a student requests that information in their record be changed.
Chino Hills resident Ravi Kapila said the bill would essentially hand out LGBTQ+ students to their parents.
“I don’t understand what good can come of this. In fact, it can only endanger children’s lives and place another responsibility on our overworked school staff,” Kapila said during the assembly’s public comment period.
Ashley Peters, whose child attends a district school, said she is concerned that if the district leaves a student, the school won’t know how the student’s family will react.
“Being trans isn’t harmful,” Peters said. “Parents who demand their right to know about their students’ requests at school assume that being trans is harmful.”
Parent Caity Martinez supported the proposed policy.
“All these kids not being able to sit here respectfully is a reflection of our teachers teaching them the wrong things,” Martinez said.
Others supported the proposed policy and praised the board for giving parents more say. One parent, identifying herself only as Crystal, thanked the board for focusing on student bullying in the new resolution.
Judy McDaniels, who raised her children in the school district, also supported the policy of involving parents in their students’ academic careers.
“Once you start hiding and using deceit to keep things from parents, it’s not a solution and you’re on a slippery slope,” McDaniels said.
It is not the first time that the school board has drawn attention to transgender issues.
In November 2021, the Chino Hills board introduced a resolution that would restrict transgender students from using only restrooms and locker rooms that match the gender on their birth certificates.
The resolution was introduced by then board administrator James Na and supported by board member Andrew Cruz. Tony Thurmond, California Superintendent of Public Education warned the school district that the resolution was against the law. Na claimed the resolution was proposed because of alleged sexual assault in a high school bathroom, but the proposed policy was defeated by a vote of 3-2.
The school board also addressed the question of whether other flags may be displayed on campus in addition to the American flag. The majority of public comments focused on the display of the rainbow flag, also known as the gay pride flag, in the district’s schools. The board banned the display of flags other than U.S. flags in a 4-to-1 vote.
Chino Hills High School senior Estefania Hernandez said the board’s policies were discouraging and made her feel unsafe on campus.
“Pride flags are a symbol of hope and security,” Herhandez said. “It reminds us that we are not alone in our struggle. Don’t take this away. Just as the American flag symbolizes something to you, (the Pride flag) symbolizes hope to us. School should be a place where I feel safe and free to be myself.”
