California city sues state over gender notification law

Huntington Beach, Calif., is suing the state over a new law that doesn’t require teachers to notify parents of a child’s change of gender. Since Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the bill into law in July, he’s faced significant pushback from conservative leaders across the state.

Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark (R) of Huntington Beach released a statement calling the bill an “egregious piece of legislation that seeks to compel educators to keep secret from parents sensitive, private, and often life-saving information related to their child’s gender issues and/or expression.”

She thanked the America First Legal Foundation for offering to join the lawsuit, along with individual parents and children from Orange County, Los Angeles County, and other counties in the state.

Huntington Beach City Council approved filing the suit in a closed session Wednesday, according to The Orange County Register. Newsom, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond are named as defendants in the case. 

The lawsuit claims the legislation, AB-1955, does not have the force of law and therefore should not have been adopted by the California School Board Association. It alleges that schools were directed to create a “covert, parallel records-filing system” to hide students’ name changes, “in order to skirt parents’ requests for pupil records or education records to which they are entitled under California Education Code and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.”

However, LGBTQ advocates argue the law is necessary to protect transgender youth who may feel unsafe expressing their gender identity outside of school, or aren’t ready to come out to their parents.

“This critical legislation strengthens protections for LGBTQ+ youth against forced outing policies, provides resources for parents and families of LGBTQ+ students to support them as they have conversations on their terms, and creates critical safeguards to prevent retaliation against teachers and school staff who foster a safe and supportive school environment for all students,” Tony Hoang, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality California, said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.

The Hill has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.