09/11/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/11/2024 11:43
SAN BERNARDINO - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement following the San Bernardino Superior Court's ruling in People of the State of California v. Chino Valley Unified School District, issuing injunctive and declaratory relief against the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education's (Board) mandatory gender identity disclosure policy. The ruling permanently halts enforcement of the Policy's provisions that required schools to inform parents, with minimal exceptions, whenever a student requests to use a name or pronoun-or access facilities or programs-that do not align with the sex on their birth certificate or official records, even when the school district knows that such disclosure will result in mental, psychological, or physical harm to the student. The Court's ruling comes after Attorney General Bonta obtained a preliminary injunction enjoining the facially discriminatory provisions of the original forced outing policy in October 2023.
"The decision from the Court to grant a permanent injunction and declaratory relief against Chino Valley Unified's initial forced outing policy is a win for all students in Chino Valley and across the State," said Attorney General Bonta. "Chino Valley Unified has an obligation to protect the safety and well-being of the students it is charged to serve, especially our most vulnerable student communities who need a supportive and welcoming environment to succeed. This ruling, consistent with our previously secured preliminary injunction, reaffirms this obligation by ensuring no child becomes a target again by blocking Chino Valley Unified from ever adopting another forced outing policy. Let this decision send a clear message to other school districts that have passed or are contemplating similar policies: discriminatory policies will not be tolerated in our educational institutions. I urge all school districts to take note and ensure every student, including LBGTQ+ students, can enjoy their right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity."
In August 2023, Attorney General Bonta announced a lawsuit challenging the enforcement of Policy 5020.1, asserting it violated several state protections safeguarding students' civil and constitutional rights. Shortly after securing a temporary restraining order, the San Bernardino Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction against the Board's forced outing policy in October 2023. The Court held that several provisions violated California's equal protection clause and discriminated against transgender and gender nonconforming students, causing them irreparable harm.
While the District voted to rescind the forced outing policy on March 7, 2024, in response to the San Bernardino County Superior Court's preliminary injunction order, the District's Board continued to stand "proudly" by Policy 5020.1, the District's counsel continued to maintain that it was "common sense and constitutional," and the District continued to make comments echoing the anti-trans statements they made publicly before enacting the policy. In discussing the policy before its passage, board members made a number of statements describing students who are transgender or gender nonconforming as suffering from a "mental illness" or "perversion", or as being a threat to the integrity of the nation and the family. The Board President went so far as to state that transgender and gender nonconforming individuals needed "non-affirming" parental actions so that they could "get better."
The ruling granting injunctive and declaratory relief against Board Policy 5020.1:
The Attorney General has a substantial interest in protecting the legal rights, physical safety, and mental health of students in California schools, and in protecting them from trauma, harassment, bullying, and exposure to violence and threats of violence. Research shows that protecting a transgender student's ability to make choices about how and when to inform others is critical to their well-being, as transgender students are exposed to high levels of harassment and mistreatment at school and in their communities when those environments are not supportive of their gender identity.
A copy of the ruling is available here.