The first-of-its-kind gender-identity law California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed earlier this month brings state policy in line with San Francisco’s, with The City’s school district previously receiving flack from some of the new law’s most vocal critics.
Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 1955 — aka the SAFETY Act — on July 15, which bars public-school districts from requiring staff to notify parents if their child changes their preferred pronouns or gender identity. California is the first state to pass such a law.
Opponents of the law argue that Newsom’s annulment of school board policies enacted a year ago infringe on parents’ rights to their children’s personal information, while supporters of the law say it will prevent “forced outing.”
San Francisco Unified School District policy has required staff to keep confidential students’ “intersex, nonbinary, transgender or gender-nonconforming status” if it is disclosed to them and students haven’t provided permission to share that information.
According to another district policy, “students have a right to be addressed by a name and pronoun corresponding to their gender identity,” as well as access to the restroom, locker room or other facilities consistent with their gender identity. Students can’t change their name or gender on their official record without “written authorization of a parent/guardian having legal custody of the student” under California law.
SFUSD’s policies have drawn criticism from the same groups opposing the SAFETY Act.
Parents Defending Education, a group that is openly critical of SFUSD’s inclusion of LGBTQ themes in teaching materials, called the new law “egregious.”
The group’s Political Director Alex Nester told The Examiner that “parents are rightly appalled by this stab in the front from Governor Newsom, who is clearly more interested in bowing to the special interest groups that line his pockets than he is in protecting California families.”
At least one school district has already sued Newsom over his signing of the SAFETY Act. Chino Valley Unified in San Bernardino County — one of several districts that passed policies in 2023 requiring teachers to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender — saying the law violates parents’ constitutional rights.
In a statement, Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon said the lawsuit is “ deeply unserious .”
“California law ensures minors can’t legally change their name or gender without parental consent, and parents continue to have guaranteed and full access to their student’s educational records consistent with federal law,” Gardon said. “We’re confident the state will swiftly prevail in this case.”
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond praised the bill’s passage. In a statement, he said “our teachers can now focus on teaching the critical academic skills that our students need to succeed, not on policing the gender identities of children.”
Danielle King, a Senior Youth Policy Counsel at National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the law also provides resources for parents and ensures retaliation protection for teachers who refuse to forcibly “out” students.
The law is critical for transgender, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary students, King said, because of the rate of suicide ideation and attempts among transgender youth.
According to the Trevor Project’s 2023 national survey on LGBTQ youth aged 13-24h, 56% of transgender young men, 48% of transgender young women, 48% of nonbinary young people and 44% of gender-questioning youth contemplated suicide last year.
King told The Examiner that “the criticisms of the SAFETY Act are based on misinformation about the new law.”
“Its main purpose is to ensure that [transgender, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary] students are treated equally and that their privacy is respected so that they can thrive in school, just as their peers,” she said.
Beyond education and legal-advocacy groups, the new law also drew criticism from X CEO Elon Musk, who announced his intention to move his social-media company from San Francisco to Texas after Newsom signed the SAFETY Act.
In response, state Sen. Scott Wiener told The Examiner Musk “doesn’t get to dictate [LGBTQ+ youth policies] to the state of California … and it’s outrageous that he’s saying that he’s moving because of the enactment of that law.”
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