Huntington Beach is once again battling with California, filing a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block a new state law that prohibits school officials from requiring teachers to notify families about students' gender identity.
The lawsuit, which includes Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, asks a judge to declare Assembly Bill 1955 unconstitutional and bar the state from enforcing it.
The law, which was signed by Newsom in July, protects teachers from being forced to inform parents about a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation without the child’s consent. The law came after a long fight between conservative school boards advocating for parents’ rights and LGBTQ+ activists.
Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark said in a statement that the law “puts children at risk” and “is an unconstitutional invasion of the parent/child relationship by the state.” America First Legal Foundation, a conservative nonprofit founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, is covering at least some of the legal fees in the case.
“This is the same egregious piece of legislation that seeks to force educators to keep sensitive, private and often vital information related to their children’s gender issues and/or expression secret from parents,” Van Der Mark said.
The law does not prohibit educators from communicating information about a child’s gender identity or sexual orientation to their parents when they deem it necessary, such as when disclosure would protect the child’s health or safety. The measure also says it merely clarifies students’ existing privacy rights under the law, rather than enacting new ones.
Bonta's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The city’s lawsuit argues that whether a child transitions or announces his or her sexuality is “a personal and private matter, not an educational matter.” However, supporters of the law say it protects children who may not feel safe disclosing their sexual orientation to their parents.
In July, the Chino Valley Unified School District sued the state over the law, saying it infringes on parents' rights.
The conservative majority on the City Council also voted Tuesday to declare Huntington Beach a city where “parents have a right to know” regarding a child’s gender identity or expression.
Huntington Beach’s ordinance states that no city educator, including instructors, counselors, or those working in city libraries, parks and recreation facilities, or other city personnel who may work with children, shall withhold from parents any information relating to a child’s gender identity, expression, or sexual orientation, with or without the child’s consent.
Councilwoman Rhonda Bolton, who voted against the ordinance, said the lawsuit is a “violation of the city's fiduciary duty as a steward of public money.”
“I’ll give whoever wrote the ordinance a gold star for creativity. It’s one of the most twisted pieces of legal reasoning I’ve ever read,” he said during a council meeting earlier this month. “The reason is that the city has no jurisdiction over this matter of educational policy and practice.”
Huntington Beach has earned a reputation for taking on the state on a variety of political issues.
The state and city sued each other in 2022 over requirements that the city would zone for more housing over the next decade. In April, California again filed suit against the city, alleging its new voter ID law violated state law.
