California lawmakers are introducing a new bill that would prohibit school districts from notifying parents if their child identifies as LGBTQ.
The new bill will be added to Assembly Bill 1955, introduced by Assemblyman Chris Ward, D-San Diego, earlier this year, through a process called “gut and amend.”
Under the amended bill, called “Supporting Future Academics and Educators for Today's Youth,” or SAFETY ACT, school districts would be prohibited from what Ward described as “forced departure policies.”
In other words, educators would not be able to notify parents about their students' gender identity or sexual orientation if it came up at school.
Far-right Assemblyman Christopher Ward introduced a bill to “gut and amend” AB 1955. (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
The move comes in response to several California school boards voting to approve measures requiring teachers to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender, changes their name or pronouns, or requests access to a bathroom, locker room, or sport-oriented on the contrary. sex.
The new bill would codify existing state protections against what have been described as “forced departures” of LGBTQ students and provide resources for families of LGBTQ students. The measure would also protect educators from retaliation if they do not notify parents.
Opponents of the bill say it keeps parents in the dark.
“No matter how much Democrats may dislike it, the fact is that parents have the right to participate in their children's education,” California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It's incredible that anyone thinks teachers can keep secrets from parents, but it's absolutely disgusting that Democrats are trying to require schools to keep parents in the dark.”
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In a letter to Ward, the California Policy Center called the bill “unconstitutional” and argued that it “violates the established authority of parents over their children and would constitute… a hat trick of harms.”
A view of the California State Capitol building in Sacramento. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for the National Urban League)
“Here's the bottom line: Public schools are intended to support parents in their efforts to educate their children, not to subvert parents as this bill would codify,” wrote the vice president of Education Policy and Government Affairs of the PCC.
“There are so many problems with this bill that a simple letter from the opposition cannot cover them all. It is difficult for skeptics to see this review and amendment as anything other than an effort to hide those problems from public scrutiny, let alone adequate constitutionality”. review.”
Ward has responded that nothing in the SAFETY Act “prohibits parents from talking to their children about any topic, including sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“In fact, as a parent, I believe that parents should have an open dialogue with their children, and these conversations should take place at home,” Ward said, adding that a student's decision to come out is “personal” and should They happen on their own terms.
Opponents of the bill say it will keep students' parents in the dark. (iStock)
Proponents of the measure say that while many parents support their children, many young people come from homes where they do not feel accepted.
The California LGBTQ Legislative Caucus has argued that schools can be a “critical source of support” and pointed to studies such as the Trevor Project's 2019 National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Youth, which found that “affirming school environments reduce “significantly increase the likelihood that transgender youth will attempt suicide.”
“Parental involvement in their children's lives is desirable and often necessary; however, a student's gender identity is generally a matter that should be discussed between the child and his or her parents at a time and manner chosen by the family,” the LGBTQ Caucus said at a joint meeting. statement. “No teacher, administrator, or anyone outside the family should force families to have conversations.”
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The SECURITY Act will be heard by the Senate Education Committee next week.
If the Senate approves it, it will return to the Assembly for additional consideration before moving to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.
