In a groundbreaking move for transgender rights in education, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a stern warning to school districts and charter schools across the state. This legal alert, distributed on January 10, 2024, explicitly cautions against forced gender identity disclosure policies, a topic that has ignited considerable debate in recent times.
The Crux of the Legal Alert
Attorney General Bonta’s alert targets policies that mandate school personnel to disclose a student’s gender identity or gender nonconformity to parents or guardians without the student’s consent. This includes situations where such disclosure could put students at risk of physical, emotional, or psychological harm. For instance, schools are required to inform parents if a student uses a name or pronoun differing from their birth certificate, or participates in programs or uses facilities not aligning with their gender at birth.
The Constitutional and Legal Violations
The Attorney General emphasizes that these forced outing policies infringe upon several state protections, including:
- California’s Equal Protection Clause: Unlawfully discriminating against students based on their gender identity or expression.
- California’s Education and Government Code: Violating anti-discrimination protections that are a fundamental right in the state.
- California’s Constitutional Right to Privacy: The mandate violates both informational and autonomy aspects of privacy.
The Implications for Transgender Students
The repercussions of such policies are far-reaching and deeply concerning. Research underscores the criticality of allowing transgender students to control the disclosure of their identity. Statistics paint a grim picture: