(Orange County Lawyers)—The Orange County Board of Education has joined a lawsuit against the state of California that challenges AB 1955, known as the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act.
Under the new law, policies that previously required school officials to inform parents about their child’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression will no longer be active or enforceable starting on January 1, 2025.
“Social transitioning is a form of medical treatment when you are actively affirming a child’s gender,” Attorney Emily Rae said. “It’s important for school districts to tell parents about this, for many reasons, not the least of which is it opens the school district to liability if their teachers are secretly socially transitioning students.”
Rae, who is senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, filed the complaint in the Eastern District of California federal court on August 8 and the Honorable Daniel J. Calabretta is presiding. A hearing on the state’s motion to dismiss is set for December 19.
The SAFETY Act was introduced and subsequently passed by the legislature in direct response to the number of school boards statewide adopting parental notification policies.
For example, in September 2023, Orange County’s Orange Unified School District became California’s sixth school district to adopt a parental notification policy mandating that parents be notified if their child requests to use a different name or pronoun at school.
“It’s quite shocking to a lot of parents in California that this is the direction the state is trying to go,” Rae told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “That they’re just so actively and obviously fighting for parents to be kept in the dark about their own children.”
A Rasmussen poll found that 84% of all California voters support a local law that requires that parents be notified.
The Orange County Education Board did not respond to requests for comment but Board President Dr. Ken Williams said in a press release, “Our board unanimously adopted a parental rights policy in June 2023 because we believe that parents play the most integral role in protecting our students.”
In the lawsuit, the Board alleges that AB 1955 conflicts board policy 600-2. Download full policy book here; policy 600-2 found on page 102.
“We argue that if a teacher wants to tell parents, as I think every teacher should, then they can and the law does not prohibit that,” Rae added. “It only prohibits school districts from requiring parental notification. So, in essence allowing secrets.”
California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and Assemblyman Chris Ward (D-San Diego) introduced AB 1955 because they argue that informing parents of a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation without the student’s permission impacts their mental health and can allegedly lead to a rise in bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
Neither Attorney General Rob Bonta nor Gov. Gavin Newsom or Assemblyman Ward responded to requests for comment.
“Teachers should not be the gender police and violate the trust and safety of the students in their classrooms,” Ward says in a statement online. “The SAFETY Act simply ensures that conversations about gender identity and sexuality happen at home without interference from others outside of the family unit.”