California governor bans outing LGBTQ+ students in public schools

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has approved a groundbreaking law that prohibits coerced outings of queer students in public schools across the state.

According to ‘LGBTQ Nation’, the SAFETY Act prevents school districts from enforcing “parental notification” policies, which require educators to inform parents if their child asks to use pronouns and facilities that align with a gender different from their birth-assigned one. Effective immediately, this law also protects teachers and administrators from reprisal if they decide not to adhere to district mandates to disclose students’ queer identities to their parents. Additionally, it allocates resources for the parents and families of queer students to facilitate supportive discussions about their identities in a manner that ensures the students' safety and respect. The SAFETY Act — Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s Youth — was passed by the state Assembly in June with a 60-15 vote.

Since 2023, more than twelve school districts in California have adopted policies to inform parents and guardians about students who identify as trans or with a gender different from their birth certificate.

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“The decision to come out is very personal and should be made by the student in their own time and to whomever they choose to share that information,” stated San Diego Assemblyman Chris Ward (D), who authored the bill. “Teachers should not act as gender police.”

“In California, LGBTQ+ students — like all students — have the right to a safe and welcoming school environment,” commented Becca Cramer-Mowder from ACLU California Action.

“With the Governor’s signature, our state leads the nation by clearly defining protections against forced outing in schools within our laws,” she continued. “LGBTQ+ students and their families deserve to choose how and when to have conversations about coming out.”

According to the Movement Advanced Project, eight Republican-led states have enacted laws requiring schools to disclose if a student is transgender, and another five have instituted parental notification policies.

In California, these policies have been particularly contentious in the state's conservative inland regions.

In April, the conservative-majority board of the Murrieta Valley Unified School District in Riverside County voted to defy a state directive to reverse a parental notification policy. The decision was met with applause from the audience in this staunchly conservative district.

Similar conflicts are ongoing in other Riverside County school districts, such as Temecula and Chino, which are central to “parental rights” activism.

“We will continue to stand united across California to ensure the government does not infringe on parental rights,” stated Chino Valley School Board President Sonja Shaw earlier this year.

A state investigation in Murrieta was triggered by complaints from two teachers. One complainant was Karen Poznanski, a 6th and 7th grade teacher and a district parent of a nonbinary child.

“This policy, regardless of enforcement, obstructed our LGBTQ+ students from living genuinely,” Poznanski conveyed to The Los Angeles Times. “It compromised their privacy and dignity, and perpetuated harm and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals and their families.”

Equality California, a state LGBTQ+ advocacy group, expressed gratitude to Governor Newsom for his steadfast support of the LGBTQ+ community through the enactment of the SAFETY Act. “Over the past year, numerous extremist school boards in California have adopted these detrimental policies that discriminate against transgender students and prevent them from safely expressing themselves at school,” the organisation stated.

“The SAFETY Act is both timely and essential, allowing LGBTQ+ students across California to feel relieved after the Governor’s action,” the statement continued. “LGBTQ+ youth in California can now engage in these crucial conversations with their families when ready, fostering stronger parent-child relationships without interference from extremist political agendas.”

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