California bans school policies that require staff to notify parents of kids’ gender identity

California this week became the first state to prohibit school policies that require employees to report students’ sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression without their consent.

The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday, ensures schools can’t require teachers and staff to notify parents of their children’s LGBTQ identities. It takes aim at a growing conservative effort to require school districts to report students’ pronouns or name changes, for instance, to parents.

Such rules can “forcibly ‘out’ pupils without their consent,” which can be harmful for young people and remove their ability to make their own “deeply personal decisions” about coming out, says the law, sponsored by Democratic state Assemblyman Chris Ward.

Some conservatives - amid a broader Republican push to restrict LGBTQ+ rights and education at the state level - argue that parents have a right to receive information about their children’s gender identities at school. The new law comes after several California districts created policies mandating that school staff report to parents.

The state began suing them to block the policies, and in January, Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) formally warned schools not to force gender identity disclosures, calling them potentially harmful to transgender and gender-nonconforming students’ psychological and emotional well-being.

“This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents,” said Brandon Richards, a spokesman for Newsom. “It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when and how families have deeply personal conversations.”

Minors in California can’t legally change their name or gender on their own. The new law doesn’t allow students to change their name or gender identity in official school records without parental consent.

Nationwide, eight states have created laws requiring some type of parental notification about transgender identity by school staff, according to a count by the nonprofit Movement Advancement Project, an advocacy group that supports LGBTQ+ rights. California is the first to ban parental notification.

Republicans in state legislatures passed dozens of bills restricting LGBTQ+ rights and education in 2023, and a record number have been introduced in 2024, though fewer have passed. Meanwhile, hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people have risen most sharply in states with such laws, a Washington Post analysis of FBI data found. LGBTQ+ Americans have reported fear and grief, and polling has shown that transgender adults say school made them feel unsafe.

California Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R), who unsuccessfully introduced legislation to require parental notification by schools, argued that the law “endangers children by excluding parents from important matters impacting their child’s health and welfare at school.”

“Today, Governor Gavin Newsom defied parents’ constitutional and God-given right to raise their children by signing AB 1955,” Essayli said in a statement Monday, published by the California Family Council, a conservative religious advocacy group. He said he planned to challenge the law in court.

The bill’s supporters say students have a constitutional right to privacy and the right to express themselves freely at school. They also said it would help protect educators who have concerns about parental notification mandates.

Educators can “continue to create a safe learning environment where all students feel accepted, nurtured and encouraged to pursue their dreams,” said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, the largest educators union in the state.

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Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff contributed to this report.