On March 5, the Board of the Rocklin Unified School District voted 4-1 to retain the Liberty Justice Center to defend its parental notification policy in an appeal from a recent ruling by the Public Employees Relations Board (PERB).
On September 6, 2023, the Rocklin Unified School District amended its administrative regulations to require parents to be notified if their child (1) requests to be identified as a gender other than the child’s biological sex; (2) requests to use a name that differs from their legal name or use pronouns that do not align with the child’s biological sex; or (3) requests access to sex-segregated school programs, activities, bathrooms, or changing facilities that do not align with the child’s biological sex.
In response, PERB’s Office of General Counsel issued a complaint on behalf of the Rocklin Teachers Professional Association (RTPA) union on October 11, 2023, in an attempt to force the District to revoke the amended regulations. After a PERB Administrative Law Judge ruled in favor of the union, the Rocklin Unified School District appealed that decision to the PERB Board. The PERB Board affirmed its judge’s ruling and ordered the District’s Board to rescind the amended regulations on January 28.
On February 27, the Rocklin Unified School District appealed PERB’s decision to the California Third District Court of Appeals, and, on March 5, the District’s Board voted to retain the Liberty Justice Center to defend its parental notification policy in court.
“We are proud to once again take a stand for California families by defending the Rocklin Unified School District’s parental notification policy, at no cost to the District or to taxpayers,” said Emily Rae, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center.
“We remain committed to ensuring clarity and fairness in our policies,” the Board of the Rocklin Unified School District stated. “Our goal is to balance our legal obligations with our responsibility to students and families.”
Learn more about the Liberty Justice Center’s work to challenge government overreach, including a recent victory for parents’ rights in California, here.
The legal filings in Rocklin Unified School District v. Public Employee Relations Board are available here.