Parental Rights policy aims to restore trust between parents and California schools

When California Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Riverside) introduced Assembly Bill 1314 earlier this year, it seemed pretty straightforward. The bill would have required schools to notify parents if their child was identifying as a different gender at school. But Education Committee Chair Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) blocked the bill from being heard by the committee, so Essayli’s bill was DOA.

That’s when CPC jumped into action, working with Essayli’s office to take the Assemblyman’s idea straight to California school boards. CPC worked with parents rights advocates and education reform groups across the state to launch the Coalition for Parental Rights. Last week, Chino Valley Unified School board president Sonja Shaw held a press conference announcing that she was introducing the coalition’s parental notification rights policy — a simple resolution that can be implemented by school boards across the state. 

California parents are demanding action against a growing number of schools enacting policies that encourage children to change their gender at school and keep their new ”gender identity” a secret from parents. 

A Rasmussen survey released last week reveals an overwhelming majority of California voters support parental rights and laws requiring schools to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender at school. A full 84 percent of California voters would support a local law that requires parents to be notified of any major change in a child’s physical, mental or emotional health.

“Parents have lost trust in school officials who want to relegate parents to being spectators to their child’s education and development,” said Lance Christensen, Vice President of Education Policy and Government Affairs at California Policy Center. “Parents, not the government, care most about their kids. Schools should not be in the business of keeping secrets from parents about their own children.”

The Coalition for Parental Rights’ website, caparentsrights.com, includes a Tool Kit for parents, including a downloadable copy of the sample policy that can be easily customized for their school district, and action steps on how to gather support for the policy and bring it before their school board.

The policy states that principals, teachers and school counselors are required to notify a student’s parents or guardians in writing within three days from the date they become aware that a student is:

(a) requesting to be identified or treated as a gender other than the student’s biological sex or gender listed on the student’s birth certificate or other official records, including any request by the student to use a different name or pronouns that do not align with the student’s biological sex or gender.

(b) accessing sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, or using bathroom or changing facilities that do not align with the student’s biological sex or gender listed on their birth certificate or other official records.

(c) requesting to change any information contained in the student’s official or unofficial records.

The policy also requires school officials to immediately notify parents if they suspect or have knowledge that a student has expressed suicidal intent or if a student is being bullied at school.

“The policy simply states that parents have a right to know what is happening with their own child,” said Christensen. 

“Kids don’t have the capacity to make life-changing decisions about their health as minors,” Christensen added. “Children are vulnerable to peer pressure. Schools are rubber-stamping these decisions that are fundamental to a child’s well-being without bringing parents into the conversation.”

The Law

Teachers' unions and LGBTQ activists are misinterpreting the law to convince schools to actively conceal information from parents. But laws that give students privacy from their parents do not exist. 

The U.S. Supreme Court has time and again confirmed the fundamental right of parents to oversee the care and control of their children, and to make decisions about their child’s care, education, health and religion.

The Tool Kit provides a detailed legal analysis for parents and school board members on two laws being misrepresented by activists and school officials: the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and California's AB 1266.

FERPA is a federal law designed to safeguard the confidentiality of a student’s education records. It protects the right of parents to access information about their child from the school and protects against third parties obtaining information about a student. 

FERPA does NOT grant rights to minor students to prevent a parent from accessing or seeing the student’s records or give schools permission to hide information from parents, including a child’s decision to change their gender identity. In fact, a school that has a policy to prevent parents from accessing their student’s records can lose its federal funding. 

The California Education Code §51101(a)(10) also requires transparency with a student’s records, and affirms a parent’s right “to be informed by the school and participate in the education of their children” and “have access to the school records of their child.”

AB 1266, enacted in 2013 and codified as Education Code 221.5, is an anti-discrimination law which mandates only that students be allowed to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, such as athletic teams and competitions, and use school facilities based on their gender identity, regardless of their biological sex. 

AB 1266 says nothing about concealing information from parents about a student’s gender identity. It does not authorize or require schools to withhold information from parents if their student is using a name other than their legal name, or using bathrooms or changing rooms or participating on sports teams that do not correspond with their sex on official records.

“California law does not require teachers and school principals to lie to parents about their child’s gender to keep their jobs,” Christensen said. 

“By adopting a simple parental notification policy, local school boards can clearly affirm for parents, students and teachers that transparency and honest communication with parents is the foundation of our public school system.”

For more information about the Coalition for Parental Rights and the Parents Rights Policy, visit https://caparentalrights.com.