On June 20, the Liberty Justice Center filed a motion urging a California court to issue a final ruling in California v. Chino Valley Unified School District, a case regarding the District’s parental notification policy.
In August of 2023, Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a temporary restraining order against the Chino Valley Unified School District, aiming to prevent the District from enforcing its parental notification policy. The Liberty Justice Center stepped in to represent the District at no cost and to defend the constitutionality of the policy on September 11.
In March, following a judge’s initial rulings in the case, the District voted to update its policy. 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 a name, pronouns, or facilities that differ from their sex at birth.
Yesterday’s legal filing—a motion for summary judgment filed with the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino District—argues that because the Chino Valley Unified School District updated its parental notification policy and the policy complies with the U.S. Constitution and California law, the Court should rule in favor of the District and against the Attorney General’s challenge to the policy.
“Both versions of Chino Valley’s parental notification policy are common sense and constitutional. Furthermore, in light of the District’s updates to the policy in March, Attorney General Bonta’s lawsuit is moot,” said Emily Rae, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “We urge the Court to rule in favor of the Chino Valley Unified School District, and look forward to continuing to defend the rights of parents and guardians to direct their minor children’s care and upbringing.”
In addition to the Chino Valley Unified School District, the Liberty Justice Center is also representing the Rocklin Unified School District in a lawsuit over its parental notification policy.
The Liberty Justice Center’s legal filings in California v. Chino Valley Unified School District are available here.