The Liberty Justice Center will represent California’s Chino Valley Unified School District to defend it against California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s lawsuit attempting to block the district’s recently implemented parental notification policy.
The State of California is suing the Chino Valley Unified School District for its parental notification policy, which requires school administrators to inform parents if their children request to be referred to by a name or by pronouns that differ from those on official records or ask to enroll in programs or use facilities that don’t align with their sex at birth.
“The state can’t intimidate parents who have spoken loud and clear—their parental rights will not be taken away, and we won’t be intimated into giving them up,” said Sonja Shaw, President of the Chino Valley Unified School District Board. “We have the law on our side and look forward to our day in court as parents will be watching coast to coast across the nation.”
“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.”
On August 28th, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, representing the state, filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent the school district from enforcing the policy. In a hearing on September 6th, Judge Thomas Garza of San Bernardino County granted the motion for a temporary restraining order until the matter could be considered in full.
“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.”
Despite the Attorney General’s lawsuit against Chino Valley, five additional districts—Anderson Union High School District, Orange Unified School District, Murrieta Valley Unified School District, Temecula Valley Unified School District, and Rocklin Unified School District—have implemented parental notification policies. Other districts are also considering similar policies.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 13th.
The Liberty Justice Center’s filings are available here.