Rocklin school board approves controversial gender identity, name notification policy

The Rocklin Unified School Board voted in the early hours of Thursday morning to approve a controversial policy requiring teachers to tell parents if their child asks to be identified as a gender other than their assigned sex at birth. 

More than 100 people spoke for and against the measure during the six-hour meeting. After midnight, the school board approved the policy on a 4-to-1 vote. Student body president Sophie Burns spoke before the vote.

“This policy not only has the potential to make our schools an unwelcoming environment where students may be isolated, but also introduces the fears of outing students to parents or homes that are not safe spaces,” Burns said. “Instead of protecting our schools’ youth, this is putting them in danger of abusive households, depression, anxiety and other unpredictable factors.”

But supporters, like school board President Julie Hupp, say the policy was created “to include parents.”

“We believe that the relationship between parents, students and staff should be open," she added.

Mike Patterson with the California Teachers Association told board members the union would challenge the policy in court.

"How can you possibly put your employees in a situation [where] they have to choose between following board policy or following the law and protecting students? How can you do that as a school board? That is not your job," Patterson told the board before the vote.

Earlier in the day Wednesday, a judge halted a similar policy at the Chino Valley Unified School District in Southern California after state Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the district. The order stops the district’s policy while Bonta’s lawsuit continues.

Bonta argued the policy will forcibly out transgender students in violation of their privacy rights and threaten their well-being. Chino Valley contends the policy seeks to involve parents so they can provide support their children need.

In California, parental notification policies cropped up after Republican state lawmaker Bill Essayli proposed a statewide bill on the issue, but it never received a hearing in Sacramento. He then worked with school board members and the California Family Council to draft the policy that was voted on in Chino Valley and spoke at Wednesday’s meeting in Rocklin. 

Last week the group Protect Kids California announced plans to gather signatures for three ballot measures that would ask California voters to decide whether transgender minors should be allowed to receive puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.