Dean McGee
Dean McGee is Liberty Justice Center’s Educational Freedom Attorney, where he focuses on empowering parents and students to choose the educational path that best meets their needs.
Victory for Parents’ Rights: The Liberty Justice Center has declared a victory for parents’ rights after 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 6th, 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 11th, 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 LJC Senior Counsel Emily Rae. “We look forward to defending the propriety of this policy in court.”
On March 7, 2024, the District voted to update its parental notification policy in response to a judge’s recent rulings in the case. The updated policy maintains the District’s original requirement that school administrators notify parents within three days if their child requests changes to their official or unofficial records, but removed language from the policy requiring staff to notify parents when a student requests to use facilities or pronouns that differ from their sex at birth.
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.”
Dean McGee is Liberty Justice Center’s Educational Freedom Attorney, where he focuses on empowering parents and students to choose the educational path that best meets their needs.
Emily Rae is a Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, where she litigates cases to protect individual liberties, prevent government overreach, and preserve other constitutional rights.
Noelle Daniel is a staff attorney at Liberty Justice Center where she assists in cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property, and other Constitutional rights in courts across the country.
(FOX News)—Some California school board members are rejoicing after the U.S. Department of Education are looking into the state’s effort to curb parental notification policies. “We warned [Gavin] Newsom,” Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) Board President Sonja Shaw told Fox News Digital. “I am a mother and a school...
(The Washington Times)—The Trump administration is cracking down on California schools that hide students’ gender-change efforts from parents. Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced an investigation into the state for alleged violations of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which “gives parents the right to access their children’s educational...
(Real Clear Politics)—California Gov. Gavin Newsom has had plenty to say since launching his podcast earlier this month with a splash, breaking from Democratic Party orthodoxy and agreeing with MAGA organizer Charlie Kirk that allowing biological males to compete in girls’ and women’s sports is “deeply unfair.” In the last...
(The New York Times)—The Trump administration asserted on Thursday that California’s new law protecting transgender students from unwanted disclosures to their parents was a violation of federal law. The announcement foreshadowed a potential legal battle over one of the most contentious issues in education — and a threat to a...
(The Lion)—A California school district will continue being able to notify parents when students request changes to their official or unofficial records after a lengthy legal battle over the district’s policy concluded this week. The lawsuit began in 2023, when the state of California sued Chino Valley Unified School District...
(Legal Newsline)—The Liberty Justice Center has announced a victory regarding parents’ rights in California following the state’s decision not to appeal a court ruling. This decision upholds the Chino Valley Unified School District’s policy of notifying parents when their children request changes to official or unofficial records. The dispute began...
(The Epoch Times)—Neither California officials nor the Chino Valley Unified School District have appealed a court ruling over the district’s revised parental notification policy that would inform parents if their child requests changes to his or her school records, according to the school board president and the state attorney general....
(The Center Square)—A California school district’s policy of requiring parental notification whenever students seek to change official or unofficial student records was upheld in court and not appealed by the state, suggesting a partial victory for both the state and school district on the matter of paternal notification for student-initiated...
(Tampa Free Press)—In a win for parental rights, the Liberty Justice Center announced today that the State of California has declined 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 school records. The...
(Contra Costa News)—The Liberty Justice Center has declared a victory for parents’ rights after 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. The legal battle over...