Governor Newsom Signs Groundbreaking Law Prohibiting Schools from Disclosing Gender Identity to Parents

On Monday, California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a landmark piece of legislation making California the first state in the nation to ban school districts from alerting parents about their children's sexuality or gender identity if it conflicts with their school records.

The newly enacted Assembly Bill 1955 prohibits educational entities, including school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools, from enacting or enforcing any policy that requires employees or contractors to disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression without the pupil’s consent unless otherwise required by law.

“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,” the bill states.

California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus Chair Susan Eggman celebrated the bill’s passage, stating, “Today is a great day for California. The Governor’s signature on AB 1955, a first-in-the-nation policy, reaffirms California’s position as a leader and safe haven for LGBTQ+ youth everywhere.”

However, the bill has faced significant backlash. Harmeet Dhillon, CEO and Founder of the Center for American Liberty, criticized the bill as an effort to keep parents uninformed. “AB 1955 is an outrageous attempt to keep parents in the dark while schools indoctrinate kids with radical gender ideology,” Dhillon said. “By signing the bill, Gov. Newsom is transferring power away from our local communities and centralizing it in Sacramento, blatantly undermining our democratic values.”

In July 2023, the Chino Valley Unified School District became the first in California to require parental notification if a student adopted a transgender identity. However, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a temporary restraining order to prevent the district from implementing that policy.

Liberty Justice Center Board Member Corey DeAngelis condemned the new law, stating, “I can’t believe we’re at a point in America where authoritarians in power are fighting this hard to keep sexual secrets about children from their own parents. They are now using the heavy hand of the state to subvert local control and try to strip away the most fundamental parental rights. I’m proud of the parents in Chino Valley Unified who are fighting back for their constitutional right to direct the upbringing of their children.”

Jacob Huebert, president of the Liberty Justice Center, echoed these sentiments, asserting, “Parents have a right to know what their own minor children are doing at school — and school officials have no right to keep secrets from parents. That’s true now, and it will still be true if the state passes this bill. We will continue to stand with parents and the school districts that want to respect their rights — and we’ll continue to represent them free of charge, at no cost to taxpayers.”

Several school districts in the state, including Anderson Union High School District, Murrieta Valley Unified, Orange Unified School District, Rocklin Unified School District, and Temecula Valley Unified, have implemented similar parental notification policies, underscoring the contentious nature of this issue.

The passage of AB 1955 marks a significant shift in the balance between student privacy and parental rights, setting the stage for further legal and political battles in the months ahead.

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