California v. Chino Valley Unified School District

Case Update: Victory for parents’ rights! The State of California failed to appeal a court decision upholding the Chino Valley Unified School District’s authority to notify parents when their children request changes to their official or unofficial records. Because Attorney General Bonta did not appeal the court’s decision by the legal deadline to do so, the Chino Valley Unified School District may continue to enforce its updated parental notification policy.

Case Background: On August 28, 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a temporary restraining order to prevent the Chino Valley Unified School District from enforcing their parental notification policy. This policy ensures parents receive critical information related to their children’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being by requiring school administrators to notify parents within three days if their child requests changes to their official or unofficial records. In a hearing on September 6^th, Judge Thomas Garza of San Bernardino County granted the Attorney General’s motion for a temporary restraining order until the matter could be considered in full.

On September 11^th, the Liberty Justice Center stepped in to represent Chino Valley Unified School District and defend it against the Attorney General’s lawsuit.

“The Chino Valley Unified School District was right to implement a policy ensuring parents have access to information that impacts their children’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being,” said former LJC Senior Counsel Emily Rae. “We look forward to defending the propriety of this policy in court.”

Despite the Attorney General’s lawsuit against Chino Valley, multiple other districts are considering or have implemented similar parental notification policies.

“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,” said LJC Board Member Corey DeAngelis. “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. I’m proud to be a board member at Liberty Justice Center, fighting alongside them. We will win this war the authoritarians are waging on parents.”