With new California ban on outing trans kids, what happens in these Placer County schools?

Reality Check is a Bee series holding officials and organizations accountable and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email realitycheck@sacbee.com .

Earlier this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that would bar California school districts from implementing parental notification policies that “out” transgender students to their parents.

Now, in Placer County, two school districts that passed such policies must decide whether they’ll accept the law and revoke their policies, or attempt to push back.

Rocklin Unified School District is one of those districts. The board passed the parental notification policy in September last year with a 4-1 majority, amid extensive community opposition both in person at the school board meeting and in emails to members of the board.

Another school district, Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District in neighboring Roseville, also passed a parental notification policy in September, just a week after Rocklin.

Lawsuits, lawsuits, and more lawsuits

Rocklin and Dry Creek school districts were among a handful in the state to implement parental notification policies last summer and fall. In response, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office issued a legal alert to all school boards declaring that the policies were a violation of state law.

“By singling out transgender and gender nonconforming students for different, adverse treatment that puts them at risk of harm, forced disclosure policies violate their constitutional right to equal protection and privacy, as well as their statutory protection from discrimination under California law,” the January 2024 alert reads.

Bonta’s office has been in a legal tug-of-war with the Chino Valley Unified School District in Riverside — the first to implement the policy — since last fall. There are other related cases as well, in Temecula and Escondido.

The Rocklin board has also faced pushback from the state Department of Education , headed by Superintendent Tony Thurmond, and its local teachers union, the Rocklin Teachers Professional Association, which successfully filed an unfair labor charge with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board .

Such pushback has not changed the minds of the board members championing the policy, though.

In May, the board agreed, again at a 4-1 majority, to enter a legal contract with the Liberty Justice Center , a Chicago-based non-profit law center that champions conservative causes, in its case with the Department of Education.

After Newsom on Monday signed AB 1955, also known as The SAFETY ACT, which was authored by Assembly LGBTQ Caucus member Chris Ward, D-San Diego, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of Chino Valley.

“School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school,” Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Emily Rae said . “Parents are the legal guardians of their children, not Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta, or Superintendent (Tony) Thurmond.”

Newsom’s press office called the lawsuit “ deeply unserious ” on social media and said that they are “confident the state will swiftly prevail in this case.”

Neither the Rocklin district nor Dry Creek responded to The Bee’s questions about how they plan to proceed with their policies now that AB 1955 has been signed into law.

But like the Liberty Justice Center, the Attorney General’s office shows no sign of backing down from the legal battles ahead.

“Amidst the growing assault on LGBTQ+ rights in California and across the nation, it’s crucial that schools take the necessary steps to create an environment where every student feels valued and affirmed for who they are,” Bonta said in a statement.

The SAFETY Act reaffirms students’ constitutional and statutory rights not to be subjected to forced outing at school and it also reaffirms that forced outing policies and any form of retaliation against teachers, parents, and allies who protect students against such constitutional and statutory harms are a clear violation of state law.“

The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.

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