Gender Identity and Minors
...because this is a topic that impacts many minor children that have exceptional needs we provide information and resources on this topic here...
2024 California Legislation
AB 1955 Lawsuit
Liberty Justice Center filed 7/16/2024
Chino Valley Unified School District, a local educational agency: OSCAR AVILA, an individual, MONICA BOTTS, an individual; JASON CRAIG, an individual; KRISTI HAYS, an individual; COLE MANN, an individual; VICTOR ROMERO, an individual; GHEORGHE ROSCA, JR., an individual; and LESLIE SAWYER, an individual
GAVIN NEWSOM, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of California; ROBERT BONTA, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of California; and TONY THURMOND, in his official capacity as California State Superintendent of Public Instruction; Defendants
Toolkit
Considerations for AB 1955 while litigation is pending
Considerations for AB 1955 while litigation is pending
- Teachers, district employees/contractors:
- If a student has requested that they be referred to by a different name and/or gender, and this is documented (most likely in a confidential student support plan), then you must provide these records upon receipt of a request in compliance with FERPA and California Education Code sec. 51101(a)(10).
- If you don’t, you are jeopardizing federal funds. “No funds shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency or institution which has a policy of denying, or which effectively prevents, the parents of students who are or have been in attendance at a school of such agency or at such institution, as the case may be, the right to inspect and review the education records of their children.” 20 U.S. Code § 1232g(a)(1).
- Do not create dummy files or separate “unofficial” records that are not disclosed in FERPA requests. Doing so “effectively prevents” the parents of students the right to inspect and review the education records of their children. You may be subject to litigation should a parent discover that these dummy files exist.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH, a California Charter City, and Municipal Corporation, PARENTS 1A-9A, Plaintiffs,
v. GAVIN NEWSOM, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of California; ROBERT BONTA, in his official capacity as Attorney General of the State of California; and TONY THURMOND, in his official capacity as California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Defendants.
Case No.: 2:24-cv-7959 September 17, 2024
AB 1955
Newsom, Legislature think they know how to raise your children better than you do August 7, 2024
"The state’s legal obligation to parents is not decreased when a child is faced with—in the words of AB 1955—“deeply personal decisions, impacting health and safety as well as critical relationships.” In fact, this is when parent’s involvement is most needed.
Because of its fatal flaws, the bill already faces at least one lawsuit, and state officials will waste California taxpayer dollars to defend an unconstitutional and unwise policy. It’s a shame Gov. Newsom and the Legislature were willing to move forward anyway. But that’s what happens when the government thinks it knows how to raise your children better than you do."
Sacramento Report: How a New Law to Protect Trans Student Privacy Works August 2, 2024
"When it goes into effect Jan. 1 it will ban school districts, charter schools and other public education institutions from requiring teachers to disclose students’ gender identity or sexual orientation to anyone without the students’ consent. That’s already defined in state education code and Ward said the law enforces students’ rights to privacy.
But does the law restrict teachers from using their own discretion about when to bring parents into the loop?
There’s no language in the law that spells that out, but Ward said it depends on the situation. If a student is in distress, at risk of self-harm or experiencing academic problems, he said a teacher “may consider casting a wider net, bringing in parents or others.”
But if a teenager is questioning their gender, “that does not necessarily mean that they are on a destructive or downward path. You have to use some of their own common sense in how you’re dealing with teenagers.”"
What the New School Gender Identity Law Does – and What it Doesn’t August 2, 2024
"Meanwhile teachers find themselves in the hot seat trying to determine what information to reveal and what to keep confidential.
Amid the legal crossfire, it’s unclear how the numerous Southern California lawsuits over the issue will be resolved, and how the new state law will be applied in court.
For now, it appears teachers will be left to their own best judgment on what to share with parents."
California Governor Signs Law Keeping Parents in Dark about Student Gender July 20, 2024
"This is the conversation LGBTQ groups and their political allies refuse to have - is believing you were born in the wrong body an “identity” we should affirm or a mental health issue we should treat?
At the moment these groups are only willing to concede that it could be a mental health issue, so teachers must keep a child’s change in gender identity a secret unless there is “reason for concern.”
But isn’t a child deciding to change their gender a clear sign of gender dysphoria and a “reason for concern?” That child, in the formative years of their life, has made a monumental decision- they hate who they are - including a “strong dislike of their biological sex.”
This is certainly a serious “reason for concern” for a parent or guardian."
Abigail Shrier: California’s New Law Lets Schools Keep Secrets from Parents July 18, 2024
"The law’s clever sponsors are typically quiet on the subject of “outing” to whom. The entire school already knows that Lily is now “Tyler.” Teachers will cheerfully share that information with each other, school mental health staff, administrators, and other students. The only ones who don’t get to know are the parents."
Gov. Newsom signs first-in-nation bill banning schools’ transgender notification policies July 18, 2024
"Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday that will make California the first U.S. state to stop school districts from notifying parents if their child starts using different pronouns or identifies as a different gender than what’s on their school record."
Southern California school district sues Gov. Newsom over new gender-identity law July 16, 2024
"A Southern California school district involved in an ongoing legal battle with the state over the district's gender-identity policy sued Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday over a new law banning districts from requiring that parents be notified of their child's gender identification change.
The Chino Valley Unified School District and a handful of parents argued the law violates the rights of parents protected under the U.S. Constitution.
“School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school," Emily Rae, a lawyer representing the district, said in a statement."
Our ruling class is an anti-family cabal July 11, 2024
"AB 1955, on the other hand, instructs teachers and administrators to keep such a change secret from parents. In other words, the whole school and all of your child’s peers know your child by one name and gender, but you – the parent – are intentionally kept out of the loop.
Teaching kids to lie to their parents while encouraging them to discuss sexuality with teachers and school administrators opens the door to exploitation by sexual predators."
AB 1955 Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth Act.
AB 1955 1955 Support Academic Futures & Educator's for Todays Youth (SAFETY) Act Fact Sheet
Students First Open Letter to CSBA Opposing AB 1955
"We CSBA members firmly believe that parents have the right to know about these critical issues affecting their children and that they have a fundamental right to direct the care and upbringing of their children. Transparency and communication between schools and parents are essential for fostering trust and collaboration. Eroding this trust between schools and parents will have a negative impact on the success and well-being of students and further exacerbate enrollment issues schools are facing.
Furthermore, local control is crucial when serving our communities. AB 1955 would undermine local control by imposing burdensome restrictions on schools’ ability to communicate with parents. Each school district understands the unique needs and values of its community, and local jurisdictions should be allowed to make these kinds of decisions.
We urge the California School Boards Association to take a firm stance against AB 1955 and oppose this legislation on behalf of our members and the families we serve."
California bill would ban schools from telling parents if student identifies as LGBTQ: 'Gut-and-amend' May 24, 2024
"In other words, educators could not notify parents about their students’ gender identity or sexual orientation if that were to come up at school. "
State lawmakers unveil bill to ban transgender notification policies in California schools May 22, 2024
""As we're seeing from some of those court conversations, it's clear that we do need statutory guidance about what should or should not be done at the local level.""
SB 957
SB-957 Data collection: sexual orientation and gender identity.
Legal Cases Briefings and Discussions
Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP (powerpoint)
Questions to consider for students on an IEP as well as students with autism
- Records: It refers to records in which a student can change their name, gender and pronouns and lists special education assessments, IEPs, and 504 plans, among others.
Question: How would a student change an IEP or 504 plan without a parent knowing? Is there a risk that the services are tied to the child’s legal name, and therefore could be withheld or denied to the child if they use their preferred name?
- Eligibility: It states that special education eligibility may be related to “gender identity (e.g., gender dysphoria, depression, anxiety, psychosis)” and that this eligibility is an “IEP Team decision.”
Question: How would an IEP team – with a parent – address these issues if the student does not want the parent to know about the name, gender or pronoun change?
- Assessments: The presentation acknowledges difficulties with knowing how to determine the comparative norm group (which gender to use) and states that reports “will likely need to have a cautionary statement explaining deviations from available comparative norms.”
Question: To the assessors out there – do you see this as an issue?
- Disabilities: It references studies where youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder “were 7.59 times more likely to express gender variance than the control group.”
Question: The presentation only refers to how a student with autism may have trouble communicating their gender identity. However, we know that many students with disabilities and intellectual disabilities are more “naïve” and subject to peer pressure. So how does this play into this? How do we know that the gender identity is organic and not due to peer pressure?
Amicus Brief: Foote v. Ludlow School Committee
"An emerging issue in public education is school officials’ secret social-transitioning of minor children in alternate gender identities and deliberately withholding that information from parents.
In this case, the school district in Ludlow, Massachusetts, disregarded parents’ instructions to not discuss gender-identity issues with their children and interfered with the parents’ decision-making through secret online discussions in which a counselor suggested that the children were not safe with their parents. Another staff member actively promoted children’s social transitioning. District officials acted according to a protocol they claimed was required by state educational guidelines and non-discrimination laws.
The parents of two children complained to school administration, only to be publicly disparaged by the superintendent and school board chairman. They sued in federal court, alleging a violation of their constitutional rights (1) to direct the upbringing of their children; (2) to make medical and mental-health decisions for their children; and (3) familial privacy. The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The Manhattan Institute has filed an amicus brief supporting the parents’ appeal to the First Circuit and presenting medical research showing that social transition is not a neutral act but an active intervention. Its use on children and adolescents in schools falls squarely within parents’ fundamental right to guide their children’s healthcare.
School board to pay $575K to teacher fired for not using transgender student’s pronouns (Virginia) October 1, 2024
"A Virginia school board has agreed to pay a former high school teacher more than $500,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees as part of a legal settlement after the instructor’s dismissal in 2018 for refusing to use a transgender student’s pronouns."
Parents and Teachers Allowed to Join Proposed Class Action Against “Parental Exclusion Policies” August 8, 2024
"“We are incredibly pleased that Judge Benitez has granted our motion for leave to amend our complaint in Mirabelli v. Olson, permitting us to proceed forward with filing a statewide class action lawsuit that includes both teachers and parents. We intend to file a motion for class certification in short order, which will seek to expand our case to secure class-wide protection for not only the teachers forced to keep parents in the dark through unconstitutional Parental Exclusion Policies, but for all parents who seek this critical information about their school-aged children.”
“Moreover, we look forward to prosecuting this case against California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose addition to the suit has now been permitted with this order. Despite the clarity in the law brought by the federal preliminary injunction we won before Judge Benitez in Mirabelli v. Olson, in September 2023, Attorney General Bonta has ignored it, and state officials have pursued legal action in open defiance of the court’s order. In doing so, Attorney General Bonta is at the tip of the spear of the institutional push to unconstitutionally violate the rights of parents and teachers. Our clients hope to put this issue to rest once and for all—by obtaining class-wide relief on behalf of all teachers and parents.”"
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS STATE OF KANSAS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Case No. 24-4041-JWB UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, et al., Defendants.MEMORANDUM AND ORDER July 19, 2024
US judge in Kentucky blocks Biden Title IX rules, says ‘sex,’ ‘gender identity’ not the same thing June 17, 2024
"Reeves wrote in his opinion that “the Department of Education seeks to derail deeply rooted law” created by the implementation of Title IX.
“At bottom, the Department would turn Title IX on its head by redefining ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity.’ But ‘sex’ and ‘gender identity’ do not mean the same thing,” he wrote. “The Department’s interpretation conflicts with the plain language of Title IX and therefore exceeds its authority to promulgate regulations under that statute.” "
"Today, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit to challenge the legislation and defend Californian parents’ rights. The Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuit—filed on behalf of the Chino Valley Unified School District and several Californian parents with children in the state’s public school system—asks the Court to bar California from implementing AB 1955 because the legislation violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
“PK-12 minor students, most of whom are too young to drive, vote, or provide medical consent for themselves, are also too young to make life-altering decisions about their expressed gender identity without their parents’ knowledge. But that is precisely what AB 1955 enables—with potentially devastating consequences for children too young to fully comprehend them,” said Emily Rae, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center.
“School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school. Parents are the legal guardians of their children, not Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta, or Superintendent Thurmond. We will continue to defend parents’ rights and children’s well-being by challenging invasive laws like AB 1955 in court, at no cost to taxpayers,” continued Rae."
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, Petitioner, v. ROCKLIN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Respondent.
Petition for Writ of Mandate
Hearing June 13, 2024
"IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS, THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, MIGUEL CARDONA, SECRETARY OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CATHERINE LHAMON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS, MERRICK D. GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATES, along with their secretaries, directors, administrators, and employees, ARE HEREBY ENJOINED AND RESTRAINED from implementing, enacting, enforcing and taking action in any manner to enforce the FINAL RULE, NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASES OF SEX IN EDUCATION PROGRAM ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, 89 Fed. Reg. 33474 (April 29, 2024), which is scheduled to go into effect on August 1, 2024.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the FINAL RULE entitled NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEX, IN EDUCATION PROGRAM ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, 89 Fed. Reg. 33474 (April 27, 2024) is HEREBY ENJOINED AND RESTRAINED from going into effect on August 1, 2024, pending further orders of the Court. This Injunction is limited to the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, and Idaho."
California Teachers Forced to Lie Seek to Add Parents, Educators, and School District in Class Action Pursuit June 10, 2024
"Thomas More Society attorneys representing California teachers Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West, asked the federal court to allow additional teachers, parents, and a school district, to be part of a proposed class-action lawsuit. The motion, filed June 7, 2024, asked United States District Judge Roger Benitez to permit the attorneys to include additional plaintiffs as representatives seeking class-wide relief in Mirabelli, et al. v. Olson, et al."
SoCal district to pay $360K to teacher who was fired after refusing to follow transgender policies LA Times May 15, 2024
"She had refused — hypothetically, in statements to district personnel — to use students’ preferred pronouns, to allow them to use the locker room matching their gender identity, or to “withhold information” from parents about their child’s gender identity, according to the federal lawsuit.
The Jurupa Unified School District did not admit any wrongdoing, but agreed to pay Tapia $285,000, as well as $75,000 for her attorneys’ fees, according to the settlement agreement signed Tuesday."
Attorney for Teachers Forced to Lie to Parents About Student Gender Issues Provides Update on Lawsuit May 7, 2024
"The state defendants filed several motions seeking to extricate themselves from this litigation—pointing the finger at each other and at defendants that had not yet been named (like Attorney General Bonta). In response, although the Preliminary Injunction already covered all such state officials, the court ordered the plaintiffs to name both Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta as defendants. Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom then filed motions to dismiss—again trying to distance themselves from the controversy and instead pointing the finger at the local school district. At the hearing, counsel for Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta stated on the record that they would “disavow any enforcement action against Escondido Unified School District for any actions that the district takes in compliance with this court’s order.” As a result, it appears that the court may dismiss them from the case without prejudice. At this time, the court has yet to issue a final order in this regard.
Regardless of whether Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta remain in the case, they are bound by the Preliminary Injunction we obtained.
While the governor, attorney general, and other state officials have promised not to enforce these dangerous policies against our clients’ interests, they are actively involved in litigation against multiple school districts (Chino Unified, Temecula Unified, and now Rocklin Unified) that have sought to enact policies that conform to the rationale of the court’s order in Mirabelli—namely, policies that recognize that (i) parents have the right to know about their children’s gender identity and (ii) teachers cannot be forced to comply with these policies under the First Amendment. In so doing, these state actors are actively undermining the federal court order in Mirabelli—and they are doing so at their own peril. We will litigate this issue as long and as hard as necessary to vindicate these important rights for parents and teachers—including eventually before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court."
ESSAYLI DECLARES VICTORY FOR ‘PARENTAL NOTIFICATION’ POLICY Sacramento Bee May 6, 2024
"The attorney general’s office responded to The Bee that Essayli’s press release “cites the court transcript out of context and misconstrues the argument.” “The point being made was that the California Department of Education (CDE) guidance document itself does not have the force of state law, however, enforceable state law underlies the document,” the AG’s press office told The Bee in an email statement. “...In other words, school districts in California can draft and implement policies that are compliant with the state’s protections afforded by antidiscrimination and privacy laws.”
The AG’s office added that the California Department of Justice “will continue to enforce and defend California’s antidiscrimination and privacy laws when they are violated.”
CA AG’s Attorney Says State’s Gender Secrecy Policy Not Enforceable, Only Guidance May 6, 2024
"In a surprising turn of events, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s attorney declared in federal court last week that California’s secrecy policy compelling teachers to deceive parents about students’ gender dysphoria isn’t going to be enforced by the state. Why? Because the secrecy policy is only based on guidelines from the California Department of Education, not state law. "
California sues Rocklin Unified School District over "discriminatory" gender notification policy May 2, 2024
"Now, the lawsuit claims the CDE is seeking a court order against the district after it has "unlawfully refused and failed" to take corrective measures outlined in a CDE investigative report released on February 1, 2024. The CDE began its investigation on September 22, 2023.
In its report, the CDE found that the district's policy was discriminatory and singled out only a specific group of students and "circumvents a student's constitutional right of privacy and determination of when and where to share private personal information regarding their gender identification and expression," the lawsuit says."
Parental Rights VICTORY: AG Bonta Admits School Boards Are Not Required to Follow His School Secrecy Policy May 2, 2024
""This admission in court that California Department of Education guidance to keep secrets from parents is unenforceable is a victory for parents and school board members who will not be intimated by empty lawsuits and threats. From day one when we started our parental rights movement last year, we knew the law was clear and there was no statute requiring schools to keep secrets from parents. That's why I authored AB 1314 to affirmatively codify a parent's right to know if schools are socially transitioning their child's gender.
“I encourage every California school district to immediately repeal any secrecy policies that were implemented as a result of the unenforceable guidelines illegally issued by the Department of Education."
"On Monday, during a hearing on a federal civil rights lawsuit prompted by the dismissal of two Escondido Union School District teachers, state attorney Emmanuelle Soichet told U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez that arguments indicating California Attorney General Rob Bonta might threaten legal action against the district for failure to enforce student gender identity privacy guidelines were misplaced.
“To answer your question about who has enforcement power over those guidelines — those are non-enforceable guidelines, so there’s no one in the state who’s actually going to enforce those guidelines,” Soichet told the court.
The prosecutor added that the privacy provision inferred from earlier legislation should not be interpreted as a “mandate of state law,” and it was an “incorrect assumption” to believe otherwise."
Newsom, Bonta duck teacher suit over California protections for trans students April 29, 2024
"Newsom and Bonta asked the court to dismiss them as defendants because the school district’s protocol was based on “guidance,” not binding policies, posted on the California Department of Education’s website as a series of frequently asked questions that dealt with reducing stigmatization of transgender and gender-nonconforming students. "
Mirabelli and West v. Mark Olson, in his official capacity as President of the EUSD Board of Education TRANSCRIPTS April 29, 2024
"California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a motion for final judgment in Bonta v. Chino Valley Unified School District seeking injunctive and declaratory relief to ensure that the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education (Board) does not reenact or implement their recently-rescinded forced outing policy – Policy 5020.1 – which was detrimental to the physical and emotional safety, well-being, and privacy of transgender and gender-nonconforming students. "
In The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Brief of State of California and 20 Other States March 12, 2024
Motion for Preliminary Injunction CVSW2306224 M. VS KOMROSKY February 23, 2024
"In the case at bar, Policy 5020.01 requires school staff to notify in writing the parents of any student who makes a request under section 1(a) -(c). Notably, the Policy applies equally to all students within the district and does not apply disparately to two or more similarly situated groups. Plaintiffs’ Motion does not address the issue of similarly situated."
California Court Rules in Favor of Temecula Valley Unified School District Over Parental Rights Fight February 23, 2024
"Today, a California Court ruled in favor of the Temecula Valley Unified School District, affirming the district’s parental notification policy and a resolution prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory (CRT). Last year, a lawsuit was filed against the school district by a group of political activists and the Temecula Valley Educators Association, challenging a resolution that restricts false and divisive CRT curriculum and requires teachers to inform parents of their students’ gender transition."
"“I am so proud of our client, Ramona Garcia, the two Mirabelli plaintiffs and their legal team for boldly standing up to the state’s coercive and bullying sexual-industrial complex,” stated Dean Broyles. “The gender emperor has no clothes—and more and more people are realizing that fact every day. Today, I am calling on all faithful teachers across California to find their spiritual spine and take a clear, bold and courageous stand for their religious civil liberties. California is now on notice. Teachers with religious beliefs about human sexuality that conflict with the state’s misguided sexual orthodoxy will no longer be forced to choose between their faith and their jobs. No longer can they be threatened to cower and bow down to or submit to this twisted gender idol out of fear of losing their employment so that they can continue to feed their families.”"
Lawsuit Now Targets CA Governor and AG for Compelling Teachers to Lie to Parents February 5, 2024
"“The California Department of Education tried to have it both ways,” stated Jonna, “on the one hand, they tried to tell the court that their ‘guidance’ on gender identity policies is not mandatory, even though they used words like ‘must’ and ‘required.’ Meanwhile, elsewhere in California, they’re working hand-in-hand with the California Attorney General enforcing this supposedly non-binding ‘guidance’ with litigation and by withholding millions of dollars of state education funds. Fortunately, the court saw through this last September—and the injunction we obtained binds all of the applicable state actors. But because the California AG and the Governor are so connected to this fight, we’re naming them as defendants to hold them fully accountable as well.”"
California Governor and Attorney General Sued by Teachers Forced to Lie to Parents About Student Gender Issues February 1, 2024
"“These previously named defendants are all operating under the supervision and control of the Governor, who has ultimate responsibility for overseeing the state’s education system,” explained attorney Paul Jonna, Thomas More Society Special Counsel and Partner, LiMandri and Jonna LLP. “The Escondido Union School District has asserted that it is compelled by the state to adopt and enforce parental exclusion policies in which California dictates the deception requiring teachers to lie to parent about their students. That leads to the conclusion that the state, and therefore, the Governor is the driving force behind the violation of Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West’s constitutional rights.”"
Judge Orders California District to Reinstate Teachers Who Refused to Hide Students’ Gender Transitions January 11, 2024
"A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a San Diego-area school district to reinstate two teachers who were placed on administrative leave for refusing to keep students’ gender transitions a secret from parents.
The order from Judge Roger Benitez says the teachers, who haven’t been allowed in their classrooms since last May, must be allowed to return by next Tuesday, Jan. 15. In September, Benitez blocked their employer, Escondido Union School District, from forcing them to comply with their policy to socially transition kids to different gender identities behind their parents’ backs....."
"The teachers in the Escondido case are Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West, who were denied a religious exemption from their district’s secrecy policy—which was adopted without any school board or public input. Administrators did not tell parents that it was in place, according to legal filings that also reveal a district social worker telling staff that parents and guardians "do not have a legitimate need for the information" about their child’s gender identity.
Attorneys for the school district instructed Mirabelli and West to stonewall any parent who might ask them about their child’s gender identity. At the same time, school counselors were guiding students’ gender transitions, using a "gender support plan" for the children and broadcasting to staff through regular emails which kids to start socially transitioning and how to conceal the fact from their parents.
Attorney General Bonta Issues Legal Alert Warning School Districts Against Forced Outing Policies January 10, 2024
"In today’s alert, Attorney General Bonta stresses that forced gender identity disclosure policies infringe on several state protections safeguarding students’ civil and constitutional rights, including:
- California’s Equal Protection Clause: These policies unlawfully discriminate against and single out students who request to identify with or use names or pronouns different from those on their birth certificates, or who access programs or facilities that, in the view of the board, are not “aligned” with the student’s gender.
- California’s Education and Government Code: Education is a fundamental right in California, and California Education Code Sections 200 and 220 and Government Code section 11135 also ensure equal rights and opportunities for every student by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. Forced disclosure policies violate these fundamental anti-discrimination protections.
- California’s constitutional right to privacy: California’s constitution expressly protects the right to “privacy,” including both “informational privacy,” and “autonomy privacy,” and policies that mandates outing transgender and gender-nonconforming students against their wishes or without their consent violates that right."
ACLU, more than 20 civil rights organizations back lawsuit against Temecula Valley Unified December 15, 2023
"Following in California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s footsteps, the ACLUs of Southern and Northern California along with more than 20 other civil rights and LGBTQ+ rights organizations have issued an amicus brief to halt the enforcement of Temecula Valley Unified School District’s policies that censor instruction on race and gender as well as its policy that requires employees to notify parents if their child shows signs of being transgender. "
‘Groundbreaking Legal Victory’: Court Rules School Cannot Trans Kids Without Parental Consent October 3, 2023
"A Waukesha County Circuit Court ruled Tuesday in favor of Wisconsin parents, deciding that a Wisconsin school district “abrogated” parents’ rights when it decided to socially “affirm” their daughter as a transgender boy against their wishes.
Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom and the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, two sets of Wisconsin parents had sued Kettle Moraine School District, accusing the district of violating their parental rights by “adopting a policy to allow, facilitate, and affirm a minor student’s request to transition to a different gender identity at school without parental consent and even over the parents’ objection.”
Circuit Court Judge Michael Maxwell granted the parents’ motion for summary judgment Monday, ruling on the merits of the case without a trial. His ruling and order, which the clerk filed Tuesday, said that the case dealt with “whether a school district can supplant a parent’s right to control the healthcare and medical decisions for their children.”
“The well established case law in that regard is clear,” he ruled. “Kettle Moraine can not.”
The judge concluded: “The current policy of handling these issues on a case-by-case basis without either notifying the parents or by disregarding the parents’ wishes is not permissible and violates fundamental parental rights.”
Maxwell ruled in favor of the parents and issued an order preventing Kettle Moraine School District from “allowing or requiring staff to refer to students using a name or pronouns at odds with the student’s biological sex, while at school, without express parental consent.”"
Attorney General Bonta: Temporary Restraining Order Against Chino Valley’s Forced Disclosure Policy Remains in Full Effect September 26, 2023
"California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued guidance addressed to all California Superintendents and school board members reminding them that the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the San Bernardino Superior Court on September 6, 2023, against the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education’s (Board) mandatory gender identity disclosure policy (Policy 5020.1) remains in full force and effect. "
'A Trifecta of Harm': Federal Judge Says California School District Can't Force Teachers To Lie to Parents About Gender Identity September 15, 2023
""The school’s policy is a trifecta of harm: it harms the child who needs parental guidance and possibly mental health intervention to determine if the incongruence is organic or whether it is the result of bullying, peer pressure, or a fleeting impulse," U.S. District Court judge Roger Benitez wrote. "It harms the parents by depriving them of the long recognized Fourteenth Amendment right to care, guide, and make health care decisions for their children. And finally, it harms plaintiffs who are compelled to violate the parent’s rights by forcing plaintiffs to conceal information they feel is critical for the welfare of their students.""
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
ELIZABETH MIRABELLI, an individual, and LORI ANN WEST, an individual,
v.
MARK OLSON, in his official capacity as President of the EUSD Board of Education, et al.,
Defendants.
ORDER:
(1) GRANTING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION;
(2) DENYING MOTIONS TO DISMISS September 14, 2023
The Parental Rights Foundation Goes to Court September 14, 2023
"Since public schools are run by the government, they are bound by the restrictions of the Constitution. Keeping secrets from parents about their child’s mental and social health undermines the constitutionally protected fundamental liberty interest, long recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, that parents have in their children’s care.
Our brief, which you can read here, lays out the history of the Court’s recognition of these fundamental parental rights. Then we point out the obvious: parents cannot exercise these constitutionally protected rights if government agents (such as public-school teachers or administrators) are allowed to keep major secrets from parents about the children in their charge."
California judge halts school district’s ‘outing’ policy for trans students September 6, 2023
"A California judge temporarily halted a recent policy by the Chino Valley Unified School District that required the schools to notify a student's parents when the student requests to be identified and treated as a gender other than their biological sex.
California Superior Court Judge Thomas Garza issued a temporary restraining order from the bench Wednesday that prevents the school district from implementing the policy until a more detailed hearing next month."
California judge halts district policy requiring parents be told if kids change pronouns September 6, 2023
"A judge on Wednesday halted a Southern California school district from requiring parents to be notified if their children change their gender identification or pronouns at school.
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Garza ruled after California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Chino Valley Unified School District for adopting a policy requiring schools to tell parents when their children change their pronouns or use a bathroom of a gender other than the one listed on their official paperwork."
Mother, Daughter to Receive $100,000 Settlement in Landmark Secret Gender-Transition Case September 3, 2023
"Alicia said she feels “extremely bad” for other children who were socially transitioned at school.
“That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to come out and speak about this case, because I want to be a voice for the people who feel like they don’t have a voice,” she said.
Ms. Konen said the school staff took advantage of her daughter’s young mind and vulnerable state, which she called “a form of brainwashing,” and didn’t tell her that Alicia was having suicidal thoughts.
If parents are kept in the dark about their children’s problems, they won’t be able to help support them or get them the therapy that they need, she said.
“It’s extremely dangerous,” Ms. Konen said, “What if something happens that is irreversible? … If a child only has the support of schools, what happens when they go home? What happens when they have those bad days? What happens when they’re confused at home?”
The best way to prevent youth suicides is for school staff and parents to work together, she said.
“If everyone’s included, then that is in the best interest of the child—not hiding it,” Ms. Konen said. “The secret stuff has to go.”"
States Sue School Boards Over Parental Rights August 31, 2023
"The Parental Rights Foundation holds no position on the issue of gender identity or its proper treatment or response. However, we believe this much is perfectly clear: no government actor should be keeping secrets from parents about the health and welfare of the parent’s minor child.
Unfortunately, Bonta doesn’t get it.....
According to its Troxell v. Granville decision, “the liberty interest…of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by [the Supreme] Court.” Yet, Bonta clearly isn’t concerned with those rights at all.
Instead, he claims that telling parents what their young children are going through “wrongfully endangers” them. How so?
According to the Supreme Court in Parham v. J.R., “The law’s concept of the family rests on a presumption that parents possess what a child lacks in maturity, experience, and capacity for judgment required for making life’s difficult decisions. More important, historically it has recognized that natural bonds of affection lead parents to act in the best interests of their children.”
Bonta would have us presume the opposite. His position seems to be that “governmental power should supersede parental authority in all cases because some parents abuse and neglect children.” But the Supreme Court (again in Parham) called that very idea a “statist notion that…is repugnant to American tradition.”
And we agree.
What’s more, so does federal law.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects the privacy and confidentiality of a student’s educational records, places parents of minor children squarely inside the bubble of privacy with their child.
FERPA establishes that parents, with their children, are due certain privacy protections of their child’s records.
Instead, Bonta in California and Attorney General Paula Dow in New Jersey both seek to place school officials inside the bubble and kick the parents out.
Ironically, coming from one claiming unconstitutional discrimination against sexual and gender minority students, Bonta seems particularly focused on robbing only the LGBTQ+ students of the safeguards and wisdom their parents can provide in the face of overreaching government officials.
We believe all children, regardless of their sexual or gender identification, have the right to be protected and defended by their parents who love them."
Federal hearing for Escondido teacher's lawsuit involving gender identity disclosure in schools August 30, 2023
"However, the attorney for the teachers says this is lying to parents, and it creates more harm.
“This directly violates their faith to deceive parents and show an example to kids, it’s ok, as important as this is, to keep from parents,” said Paul Jonna, Thomas More Society's special counsel.
The federal judge hasn’t ruled but consistently told the court, in part, that children are too young to make that decision and parents have the right to know.
The California Department of Education declined to comment.
The judge did not give a date when he’d rule on a preliminary injunction."
As culture wars escalate, California officials push back on conservative school board policies CalMatters August 29, 2023
"California’s culture wars escalated Monday as the state sued a school district over its transgender student policy, and a parents’ group took the first step toward placing a trio of initiatives on next year’s ballot that would restrict protections for transgender youth."
California is suing to stop schools from outing trans kids to their parents August 28, 2023
"Bonta, in his lawsuit, argues the policy infringes on several state protections, including California’s equal protection clause, the state education and government code, and California’s constitutional right to privacy."
The National Center for Law and Policy Re: A Response to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Misguided Targeting of
CVUSD and the Model Parent Notification Policy August 8, 2023
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, EX REL. ROB BONTA, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, Plaintiff, v. CHINO VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant.
Bonta opens investigation into Chino Valley school district policy to notify parents about LGBTQ+ students August 4, 2023
"On Friday, the attorney general moved past rhetoric and declared he was opening a civil rights investigation into the district.
“Today’s announcement stresses our commitment to challenging school policies that target and seek to discriminate against California’s most vulnerable communities,” Bonta said in a statement Friday. “California will not stand for violations of our students’ civil rights.”"
Supreme Court lets stand ruling that protects people with gender dysphoria under disability law June 30, 2023
"In its ruling in August, the 4th Circuit became the first federal appellate court in the country to find the 1990 landmark disabilities law protects transgender people who experience anguish and other symptoms as a result of the disparity between their assigned sex and their gender identity.
Under the ruling, people with gender dysphoria are entitled under the ADA to receive reasonable accommodations and are protected from discrimination. Advocates see the ruling as a tool they can use to challenge legislation in a growing number of states aimed at restricting access to gender-affirming medical care and other accommodations for transgender people.
“The overwhelming majority of Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQIA+ people, and today’s decision means the ADA remains a mechanism that can help our communities secure those protections,” Hunt said.
The ruling is binding only in the states covered by the Richmond-based 4th Circuit — Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia."
Legal Opinion Memorandum in Strong Support of the Model California Parent Notification Policy
National Center for Law & Policy June 14, 2023
Transgender students' privacy should be protected, says MD Attorney General
"BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is the latest to join a coalition in a brief supporting schools' abilities to protect the privacy of transgender students who have shared their identity with school staff.
The brief argues in support of the Ludlow, Massachusetts school district’s practice of only sharing information on a student’s transgender or gender-nonconforming identity with the student’s parents if the student consents."
ADF to 1st Circuit: Protect parents' right to raise children without govt interference
“Parents—not government officials—have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, care, and education of their children. Yet the Ludlow School Committee has joined a troubling trend of school districts enacting gender-identity policies that exclude parents from any knowledge or involvement in key decisions regarding their children’s care and education. As we explain in our brief, Ludlow School Committee officials blatantly disregarded parents’ rights, acting as if government-run schools are more appropriate guardians of children than their own moms and dads. When public school officials violate parental rights, it’s vulnerable children who suffer. We urge the 1st Circuit to affirm the constitutional protections parents have so they can make the best decisions for their own kids.”
"California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general in an amicus brief in support of the Ludlow School Committee’s efforts to create a safe and supportive environment for transgender children and all students. The Ludlow School Committee in Massachusetts is currently facing a challenge to its policy that seeks to prevent the unnecessary disclosure of a student’s gender identity, while also striving to include families in creating a safe school environment for transgender students. In the friend-of-the-court brief, the attorneys general reiterate the role of states in supporting safe, inclusive school environments that help all children learn, thrive, and grow into contributing members of society."
NO. 23-1069
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
LUDLOW SCHOOL COMMITTEE; TODD GAZDA, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT; LISA NEMETH, INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT; STACY MONETTE, PRINCIPAL, BAIRD MIDDLE SCHOOL; MARIE-CLAIRE FOLEY, SCHOOL COUNSELOR, BAIRD MIDDLE SCHOOL; JORDAN FUNKE, FORMER LIBRARIAN, BAIRD MIDDLE SCHOOL; AND TOWN OF LUDLOW, Defendants-Appellees.
State of Wisconsin EXPERT AFFIDAVIT OF DR. STEPHEN B. LEVINE, MD
B.F., T.F., P.W. AND S.W., Plaintiffs,
CIRCUIT COURT BRANCH 4
WAUKESHA COUNTY
FILED
02-03-2023
Clerk of Circuit Court Waukesha County 2021CV001650
v.
KETTLE MORAINE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Defendant.
STATE OF WISCONSIN EXPERT AFFIDAVIT OF DR. ERICA E. ANDERSON, PhD
B.F., T.F., P.W. AND S.W., Plaintiffs,
CIRCUIT COURT BRANCH 4
WAUKESHA COUNTY
FILED
02-03-2023
Clerk of Circuit Court Waukesha County 2021CV001650
v.
KETTLE MORAINE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Case No. 21-CV-1650
Defendant.
Parental Notification Board Policy
Coalition for Parental Rights (California)
5145.3
CSBA Sample Administrative Regulation Nondiscrimination/Harassment AR 5145.3
CSBA Sample Board Policy Nondiscrimination/Harassment BP 4145.3
Student Records Requests
"(A)No funds shall be made available under any applicable program to any educational agency or institution which has a policy of denying, or which effectively prevents, the parents of students who are or have been in attendance at a school of such agency or at such institution, as the case may be, the right to inspect and review the education records of their children." 20 U.S.C.A 1232g (a) (1) (A)
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
California Education Code 56504
"The parent shall have the right and opportunity to examine all school records of his or her child and to receive copies pursuant to this section and to Section 49065 within five business days after the request is made by the parent, either orally or in writing. The public agency shall comply with a request for school records without unnecessary delay before any meeting regarding an individualized education program or any hearing pursuant to Section 300.121, 300.301, 300.304, or 300.507 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations or resolution session pursuant to Section 300.510 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations and in no case more than five business days after the request is made orally or in writing. The parent shall have the right to a response from the public agency to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records. If a school record includes information on more than one pupil, the parents of those pupils have the right to inspect and review only the information relating to their child or to be informed of that specific information. A public agency shall provide a parent, on request of the parent, a list of the types and locations of school records collected, maintained, or used by the agency. A public agency may charge no more than the actual cost of reproducing the records, but if this cost effectively prevents the parent from exercising the right to receive the copy or copies, the copy or copies shall be reproduced at no cost."
Parental Notification Board Policy Articles
Teachers, conservatives battle for sway on school boards EdSource October 30, 2024
"School board policies directing school staff to notify parents if a student asks to use a different pronoun or name than given at birth — often called parental rights policies — continue to be a hot-button issue in some districts this election season, despite a new state law that will make these policies illegal starting in January.
The new state law requires a student’s consent before information about their sexual orientation or gender identity can be given to parents. The law also protects school staff from retaliation if they refuse to notify parents of a child’s gender preference."
Cajon Valley rejects CA parental notification ban for students questioning their gender August 13, 2024
"During an August 13 school board meeting at the district headquarters in El Cajon, board member Jim Miller introduced a resolution entitled, "Parental Involvement and Parental Rights."
Among other reforms, Miller's resolution requires teachers or school staff to notify parents of children under 12 years old if their child wants to be identified as a different gender than what is listed on official district records.
Reads the proposal, "This includes any request by the student to use a name that differs from their legal name (other than a commonly recognized diminutive of the child’s legal name) or to 3 use pronouns that do not align with the gender listed on the student’s official District records.""
California judge sides with AG Rob Bonta over proposed trans youth ballot measure’s title April 20, 2024
"“Under current law, minor students have express statutory rights with respect to their gender identity,” Acquisto wrote. “A substantial portion of the proposed measure is dedicated to eliminating or restricting these statutory rights.”
“Petitioners contend that their preferred title ... should have been used to avoid prejudicial effect, because ‘protect’ does not carry a negative connotation that ‘restrict’ carries,” he wrote. “But the term ‘protect’ is abstract because it does not describe in specific or concrete terms what the proposed measure would actually do.
“And whether the measure would actually ‘protect’ kids is subjective and debatable,” adding that the language “appears” to a violation of the election code.
“The Attorney General’s wording, on the other hand, provides an accurate description of the immediate and tangible effect of the proposed measure,” Acquisto wrote.
Acquisto will give the case further thought before issuing a formal decision.
“It bodes well for the petitioners that the judge did not adopt his tentative from the bench,” said Protect Kids organizer Erin Friday. “But after listening to the arguments from both sides, took the matter under submission. He also accepted petitioners’ alternative title and summary as part of his reconsideration of the matter.”"
Conservative California school board members ousted after trans-related parental notification policies March 24, 2024
"The Orange Unified School District board members last year passed a measure to inform parents when their children identify as transgender.
The school district said it was considering the policy in the name of protecting the "fundamental rights" of parents and guardians to be involved and informed about their children’s lives.
The policies prompted teachers and locals to launch a recall against Ledesma and Miner."
Parental notification policies split opinions of California courts, Department of Education March 13, 2024
"But two superior court judges and one federal judge have sided with similar parental notification policies the CDE called discriminatory."....
"Protect Kids CA, a parents’ rights activist group, is collecting signatures for a ballot proposition in November, the Protect Kids of California Act, which would enforce a statewide parental notification policy, prevent trans kids from playing sports on teams that don’t align with their biological sex, and bar any trans minor from receiving gender-affirming health care, whether their parents support it or not. As the group collects signatures, they are also suing Bonta for what they call a mischaracterization of the initiative; Bonta’s office has titled it the “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth” initiative.
In the meantime, voters appear to have supported the recall of parents’ rights school board members, which may indicate that the tide is turning on such board policies."
Chino Valley revamps parental notification policy; LGBTQ+ allies fear legal escalation EdSource March 8, 2024
"Unlike the original policy adopted in July, the new policy does not use words like “gender” or “bathroom.” Instead, it broadly states that school officials should notify parents in writing, within three days, if their child requests to change any information in their official or unofficial record."
Statement by the Liberty Justice Center Regarding Chino Valley Unified School District’s Updated Parental Notification Policy March 8, 2024
"The updated policy, passed on March 7, maintains the District’s original requirement that school administrators notify parents within three days if their child requests changes to their official or unofficial records, but removed language from the policy requiring staff to notify parents when a student requests to use a bathroom or pronouns that differ from their sex at birth."
Despite Federal Ruling, State Threatens Rocklin Schools Over Parent Notification Policy February 14, 2024
"Despite a federal court ruling against a southern California school district’s gender secrecy policy, the California Department of Education (CDE) ruled last week against the Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD) for its parent notification policy on gender. The CDE investigation report claimed Rocklin’s newly enacted rule, requiring parents to be notified if their child starts publicly identifying as another gender, violated education codes related to discrimination and student privacy.
If the district doesn’t take corrective action, the CDE will take action under Cal. Code Regs., tit. 5 § 4670, which permits “the withholding of all or part of the local agency’s relevant state or federal support…” "
VIDEO: California Charter School Network Restores Parental Rights! December 1, 2023
Elias: Transgender students California’s latest state-local conflict November 25, 2023
"The stated fear of LGBTQ+ leaders and their allies like Newsom is that some children exhibiting transgender tendencies would become victims of parental violence if they were “outed.” Opponents of the schools’ recent rule changes believe children only hide their transgender tendencies and wishes from parents if they fear such violence.
They believe schools should protect children’s interests over parental authority. Meanwhile, lower court judges have differed on whether the state or local districts have ultimate authority on these issues."
Transphobic, anti-LGBTQ+ ‘parents’ rights’ groups are waging a war on our children (Opinion) October 29, 2023
"If anyone is waging a war on children, it is these transphobic, anti-LGBTQ+ groups. They are waging a war against mental health care for our kids, against the dissemination of information to students and against the creation of a safe, welcoming environment for trans youth and their families. Their “concern” for the safety of the children in our beautiful state does not appear to extend to LGBTQ+ and trans youth. These youth need mental health care, information and sanctuary."
CA Funding LGBTQ+ Group Fighting Parental Notification October 28, 2023
"Christensen argues that the deck is heavily stacked against his side because parents are already fighting the deep-pocketed teacher unions who back many of the policies parents’ rights groups have tried to fight, including extended COVID school shutdowns that kept students in virtual learning longer than many other states.
On top of that, the leaders of Equality California, which is more ideologically aligned with the Democrats who run the state, “feel like it’s their right and duty to extract money from taxpayers to help amplify their views,” he argued.
“The fact of the matter is, most parents are well aware of the positions these groups have,” he said. “They just aren’t aware that their tax dollars are going to subsidize these activities.” "
Judge bars Chino Valley Unified from outing transgender students to parents October 19, 2023
"In court Thursday, Judge Michael Sachs ruled the policy’s first two provisions forcing outing transgender students to their parents are discriminatory based on sex, violating the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
The third provision, however, is “neutral facing,” Sachs ruled, because it affects all students, not just those seeking gender-affirming accommodations.
The final provision of the policy, he added, “is a circumstance in which the students are making this information a voluntary addition to their school records not a mandated obligation.”"
Liberty Justice Center Defends Parents and Students in Hearing on California v. Chino Valley Unified School District October 19, 2023
"As the hearing concluded, Judge Sachs rejected the Attorney General’s application for a preliminary injunction against the policy in part and granted it in part. This ruling will temporarily halt the district from enforcing parts A and B of the policy while litigation is ongoing, but allow them to enforce part C"
How conservatives are waging a coordinated, anti-LGBTQ+ culture war in California schools October 15, 2023
"They have tapped into a vein of concern among parents — even some liberal ones — who are struggling with the fact that students experiment with gender identity at school, that some will pursue gender-affirming medical care, and that state law places limits on how gender identity can be shared with parents."
Parental rights weighed in court cases across the country CSBA October 11, 2023
"In the future, higher courts may consider these specific cases on appeal and provide clarification and additional guidance on parents’ rights, especially as they relate to the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming students. For now, each case provides differing insight into how courts may consider teacher, parent, and student rights." (Regino and Mirabelli)
An OC School District Adopts New Parent Alert Policy; Will it Impact LGBTQ+ Students? October 11, 2023
"Instead, Placentia-Yorba Linda school board officials voted 3-2 Tuesday night to adopt a parental notification policy centered on reporting students who may pose a “clear and present danger” to themselves or others.
“This is a tool to be able to make sure that our parents are informed about things all the way from disruption of student learning up through extreme situations,” board member Todd Frazier said.
“It’s not an outing policy, it’s parent communication.”"
The right of parents to raise their own children should not be up for debate October 6, 2023
"It’s troubling that the path these lawmakers chose is regarding transgender students because these students are in fact more vulnerable and more prone to suicide. Making the conversation a parents vs. children debate is not helping them. Yes, these students do have greater mental health challenges, are at greater risk of suicide AND have been shown to have the best outcomes when parents are involved."
"Momentum does not favor lying to parents or concealing important information from them. Oh, how the tables have turned in less than three months. Now, the dominant narrative has become that school boards who continue to maintain unconstitutional parental gender secrecy policies had better start paying close attention. If they fail to act and adopt a constitutional parental notification policy, they are putting their district at significant legal, financial and existential risk. Continue to disrespect and ignore parents and they will continue to hemorrhage students and funding. Continue to foolishly violate fundamental rights secured by the U.S. Constitution and school districts will be the deserving target of civil rights lawsuits from harmed parents, harmed teachers and harmed students. "
LGBTQ+ students in conservative crosshairs October 5, 2023
"Proponents of the parental notification policies have said that parents have the right to know what is going on with their children at school and that minors do not have a right to privacy."
Placer County school officials are punishing transgender kids for being trans September 9, 2023
"“If this policy passes tonight, I won’t comply,” Mougeotte said. “I’m not going to follow a policy that breaks trust with my students that endangers their lives. I won’t out any student for any reason.”"
Communists demand end to 'Christian fascism' at chaotic school board meeting over parental notification policy September 9, 2023
""We're getting organized for a real revolution to get rid of the system," she told the audience. "Any kind of trying to negotiate with any of these fascists in the room, on the board, is illegitimate."
She then called for anyone "with humanity for LGBTQ people" to "get ready for a revolution to overthrow this whole system that gave birth to this White supremacy and this male supremacy.""
Lance Christensen: Honesty is the best parental notification policy September 3, 2023
"Indeed, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently said that parents, not schools, possess the fundamental right to raise their children, and to direct activities and make decisions regarding the child’s care and control, education, health and religion. The court calls this constellation of parental interests “essential” and has declared parental rights among the “basic civil rights of man.”The relationship between a parent and teacher is sacrosanct as parents entrust their precious children to teachers hoping they receive an education, not social reconditioning. Eroding the trust between parents and teachers because of a dubious reading of state law is serious and troubling.
Requiring teachers and schools to lie to parents is also unethical. Secrecy not only creates a schism between parents and teachers, but among teachers who find it reprehensible to lie and their employers. It also leaves students to grapple with whom they should trust.
Public school administrators and teachers are part-time and limited caretakers of our children and they need to be full and honest partners with parents and perpetuate policies that promote maximum transparency among the parties in order to safeguard children and provide them the best academic outcomes.
That is the proper role of our public schools that parents expect and that the law requires. And honesty is always the best parental notification policy."
Lacking political power in California, conservatives turn focus to local school boards LA Times August 15, 2023
"An organization called the Coalition for Parental Rights — which includes several Christian and conservative advocacy groups — has sprung up and is looking to advance the gender notification policy across California, said Jonathan Zachreson, a Roseville City School District board member who organized parents during the pandemic to fight school closures and mask and vaccine policies.
Conservative and parent groups are also in the early stages of crafting statewide ballot initiatives, Zachreson said. The proposals include a transgender parental notification policy, a measure involving transgender students in sports and a proposal on medical procedures for transgender youth."
Can teachers be legally liable if district policy requires they break the law? EdSource August 15, 2023
"Andrea Johnston, Chino Valley Unified director of communications, said school staff received training on the new board policy before the first day of school and that staff who adhere to district policies will be protected and supported.
“At this time, the district is not clear how educators can be held liable for upholding district policies since none are contrary to current state laws and policies,” Johnston stated in an email."
PYLUSD board votes to leave the California School Board Association August 9, 2023
"Superintendent Alex Cherniss, who joined the district in May, said the decision to break from the state association has been in the works for a while, adding he is positive its a good move for the district.
“Unfortunately, 99.9% of districts do not question the cost and value of CSBA, and simply rubber stamp this membership. That is just wrong,” Cherniss said. “As superintendent, I have already asked staff to evaluate the cost, purpose and effectiveness of all organizational memberships, professional development opportunities, conferences, etc.”
PYLUSD was paying $30,000 per year to be in the association, and that is just “too much for a district,” he said.
Membership in the CSBA offers school districts and their boards a “voice in public education throughout California,” the association says on its website. The CSBA will often advocate for funding for schools and provides various trainings and conferences for teachers, administrators and board members.
“The board must determine what level of ‘voice’ represents their views and again, is it worth the cost,” said Cherniss. “Is their voice heard? Does the organization respond to their inquiries? Is the annual conference, which is paid on top of membership fees for another $15,000 to 25,000, worth their time?”
Board members Leandra Blades, Todd Frazier and Shawn Youngblood supported leaving the CSBA, with Blades calling it a “lobbyist” organization.
“CSBA has lobbied against what parents want,” she said. “From what I have read, our membership fees will go against a certain political party and disparage a political party. We should be making sure everything is for the kids and keeping politics out of it.”"
Coalition Congratulates CVUSD Board for Protecting Students by Protecting Parental Rights PRESS RELEASE July 21, 2023
Gov. Newsom’s School Board Showdown July 26, 2023
"Conservative groups, however, point to a California law, AB 1266, which requires that students be permitted to participate in school programs and sports and use facilities consistent with their gender identities. They argue that it says nothing about requiring students to hide gender information from parents and that school districts are simply adopting policies of not disclosing gender or sexual identities to parents based on the Department of Education’s interpretation of the law in the FAQ section on its website.
They note that it explicitly requires notifying parents and legal guardians of career counseling and course selection for certain grades. After the mid-summer school board fights, the legal wrangling will only heat up once the school year begins.
The Coalition for Parental Rights applauded the Chino Valley school board for adopting a “policy that acknowledges the important role parents play in the emotional health of their children.” "
California Voters Support Parental Rights by Overwhelming Margins June 12, 2023
"If such a law included notifying parents of a child identifying, requesting to identify, or being treated as a gender that doesn’t align with their biological sex, 62% of California voters would be more likely to support it, including 46% who would be Much More Likely to support the parental notification law. Twenty-seven percent (27%) would be less likely to support it."
Parental Rights Pledge Campaign
Understanding the Legislative Process
Newport Mesa Unified School District Adopts Parental Secrecy Policy
Irvine Unified School District Adopts Parental Secrecy Policy
School Districts that have passed a Parental Notification Board Policy
Chino Valley Unified School District *Updated Board Policy* March 7, 2024
Roseville Joint Union High School District November 9, 2023
Classical Academy October 30, 2023
Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District October 10, 2023
Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District September 14, 2023
Orange Unified School District September 7, 2023
Rocklin Unified School District Nondiscrimination Harassment September 6, 2023
Temecula Valley Unified School District August 22, 2023
Anderson Union High School District August 22, 2023
Murrieta Valley Unified School District August 10, 2023
Chino Valley Unified School District Board Policy 5020.1 Parental Notification Adopted July 20, 2023
Chino Valley Unified School District Administrative Regulation 5145.3 Nondiscrimination Harassment of Students Revised July 20, 2023
Curriculum, Instructional Materials and Books
AB 1825 California Freedom to Read Act
Parents File Lawsuit After Elementary School Denies Request for Notification and Opt-Out From Gender Ideology Book September 25, 2024
"In May 2024, a fifth-grade teacher at La Costa Heights Elementary School read aloud the book, My Shadow is Pink, which urges children to question their own gender identity. The book features a boy who sees his shadow as pink, which the book describes as “your inner-most you.” He then wears a dress to school and his dad changes his beliefs and puts on a dress too. The children in this case were forced to watch a read-aloud video of the book with their kindergartener “buddy” as part of the school’s mentoring program. Then they had to ask the kindergartner what color “represents” him and draw the kindergartener’s shadow in chalk. When the parents requested notice and opt-outs from similar teaching in the future, the school district denied their requests.
In the complaint, attorneys state, “By denying Plaintiff Parents’ requests for advance notice and opt-outs from teaching that violates their Christian faith, and by insisting that religious children participate in activities that promote gender identity in violation of their faith, the School District is willfully disregarding and violating their First Amendment right to direct the religious upbringing of their children.”"
As LGBTQ library material comes under fire, California may ban book bans August 5, 2024
"After flipping through the books, Brandau said he left the library in June 2023 “horrified” by images he believed were too sexually explicit and topics he felt were too mature for young readers. He began reaching out to local officials elsewhere — in states such as South Carolina, Kentucky and Texas, where library book controversies have become commonplace — to learn what they were doing.
Last November, Brandau led Fresno County in creating one of California’s first citizen review committees for library books, which could soon decide whether to move material with “sexual references” and “gender-identity content” to a restricted area where it could only be checked out with a parent’s permission."
California Bill Restricting Kids’ Access to Books with Sexual Content Dies in Senate Committee April 19, 2024
"California lawmakers killed a bill April 17 that would have required school districts to restrict books with “harmful” sexual content from elementary and middle school classrooms and libraries.
Senate Bill 1435, introduced by Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh in February, would have required school boards to restrict books with content considered harmful under California Penal Code 313 from being accessed by children below eighth grade.
The penal code describes “harmful matter” as content that “depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct and which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”
The bill failed in the Senate Education Committee as members voted 3-2, with two abstentions, against advancing it."
How to Look Up Age Inappropriate Book Content In School Libraries A Guide
School libraries have become the battleground for the hearts and minds of our children January 25, 2024
"It is important to note that distributing such materials off school grounds would be considered a criminal act, yet exposing children to them during school hours is somehow justified as “educational.” This glaring double standard raises serious concerns about the protection of our children within the confines of the educational system."
The trans bill that wasn’t September 21, 2023
"“We want to make sure that we’re prepared to engage in public education about this that’s effective and that helps people understand this isn’t about harming relationships with their kids,” said Assemblymember Rick Zbur, the former executive director of Equality California.
Another factor in the decision was input from Newsom’s office, according to two members of the LGBTQ Caucus who were granted anonymity to speak about internal discussions.
The lawmakers said the caucus had been divided between two factions: One that favored quick action and another that wanted to take a more measured approach.
That’s when Newsom’s office intervened. Chief of Staff Dana Williamson and Legislative Affairs Secretary Christy Bouma held a conference call with leaders of the LGBTQ Caucus about pausing their effort, according to the two legislators who spoke on condition of anonymity and were briefed on the call. Days later, lawmakers opted to shelve the bill.
From the perspective of Newsom’s administration, it was less of an ask to hold the bill and more of a conversation about how to approach the issue thoughtfully, according to an administration official with knowledge of the call who was granted anonymity to discuss a private meeting."
you don't own your kids? September 21, 2023
"just what is the actual claim being made here by the “you don’t own your kids” folks?
are they arguing that someone else does? the tribe? the school? the state?
it’s an idea that’s been tried and is common in totalitarian systems like fascism, communism, or a variety of authoritarian or theocratic structures from kings to tibetan llamas (themselves prolific stealers of children and owners of slaves).
it’s a sort of bedrock notion to many autocratic systems where the kids are the property of the state and owe it and not their family fealty. dogma driven dictators do not like competing power centers."
-Legal Update
- Law and Public Schools
- Existing Parent Education Rights
- Curriculum and Instructional Materials - School Libraries
And Opportunities for Family Engagement in EGUSD
September 19, 2023
Parents, students of Elk Grove Unified debate parental rights, book bans at meeting September 19, 2023
"Parents and students spoke their minds about what they consider to be controversial books and reading materials at Elk Grove Unified School District libraries Tuesday night.
People packed the district's Board of Education meeting to denounce books they say contain explicit material, calling for them to be banned from the libraries."
Unmasking “Common Sense Media” September 6, 2023
"As parents, we deserve access to diverse perspectives and honest reviews that reflect a range of opinions. It’s not about left or right. It’s about ensuring our kids are exposed to content that is appropriate for their age and maturity. You may pretend to be on our side, but we see you for what you are. Frauds. I, along with many others, will never use your site again."
'This is really graphic': Indian River County School Board removes dozens of books, at the public's request August 29, 2023 FLORIDA
"Under Florida law, an interruption made by the chairperson during a reading calls for the book to be immediately taken off the shelves. And that's what happened every time."
Gavin Newsom quickly intervened on banned textbooks. Why not school closures? August 6, 2023
"Newsom declared the board to be “radicalized zealots” and said, “If the school board won’t do its job by its next board meeting to ensure kids start the school year with basic materials, the state will deliver the book into the hands of children and their parents – and we’ll send the district the bill and fine them for violating state law.”
Newsom’s threats worked as the Temecula school board backed down. However, his lightning-fast crackdown on Temecula sharply contrasts with what happened three years ago on a much more important clash – whether to reopen schools shuttered due to COVID-19."
Ending Censorship of Public School Curriculum by Temecula School Board Public Counsel MAE M. V. KOMROSKY August 2, 2023
"The Temecula students, parents, and educators are represented by Public Counsel and Ballard Spahr LLP, with the support of the California Teachers Association (CTA)."
Stop escalating culture battles that are dividing our schools July 26, 2023
"Shrill political theater also runs against parents’ own sentiments. Nearly three-fifths prefer that educators limit transgender and sexual identity content in classrooms. At the same time, more than three-quarters say, “My child’s school does a good job keeping me informed about the curriculum, including potentially controversial topics,” according to an April 2022 national poll.
Newsom could win greater national repute by devising a strategy for lifting student learning, still lagging far behind two years after schools emerged from the pandemic. Let’s prioritize whether children are learning to read, not stoke divisions over what they are reading."
Gov. Newsom’s School Board Showdown July 26, 2023
"Democrats in the legislature are pressing forward with a bill, AB 1078, that would grant them more power to prevent school boards from rejecting state-developed curricula and rules. Given the spate of fierce school board battles, conservatives worry that liberal lawmakers will fast-track the measure once they return from their month-long summer break in mid-August.
“We’ve never seen this level of involvement by a California governor into local districts where there is supposed to be local control,” Marlo Tucker, California state director of Concerned Women for America, told RCP. “The threats appear to be an attempt to intimidate boards into compliance with [California Department of Education] directives. For boards dominated by a more left-leaning majority, they will probably strengthen their resolve to do so. For boards like those in Chino Valley, the effect may be just the opposite.”"
Temecula Valley Unified reverses course and adopts state-approved social studies curriculum EdSource July 22, 2023
"After vowing to defy pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Temecula Valley Unified’s school board reversed itself and adopted social studies textbooks for elementary grades, while also voting to exclude a chapter that highlights civil rights, including the gay rights movement."...
"“Newsom, Thurmond, Bonta, they are salivating for us to make a mistake,” Komrosky said. “So, for me, I want to make the right decision. We do not have curriculum. We are three weeks out (from the start of school). This is just my concern. What I’m saying is we have to take action that’s legal, not illegal, to avoid litigation.”"
Governor Newsom Issues Statement on Temecula Textbooks July 21, 2023
"Friday’s decision by the school board to adopt an up-to-date history and social studies curriculum comes following multiple demands by Governor Newsom. Following a series of prior actions, earlier this week the Governor announced the state would fine the school district and enter into a contract to secure textbooks if the board failed to adopt a legally-compliant social study curriculum.
The Temecula Valley Unified School District board majority’s actions are being investigated by the California Department of Education. On June 7, 2023, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom announced an inquiry into the district by the California Department of Justice related to civil rights violations."
Temecula board again votes to reject textbooks, despite warnings from Newsom EdSource July 19, 2023
"The Temecula Valley Unified school board did not back down Tuesday from its previous decision to reject Social Studies Alive textbooks recommended by a committee of its teachers, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s warnings that the district could be sanctioned if it didn’t use the updated state-approved curriculum.
In May, the school board voted 3-2 not to use the Social Studies Alive!” textbooks, published by Teachers Curriculum Institute, in grades one to five. Some board members objected to supplemental material to the textbook that included gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Tuesday’s vote was again 3-2."
This bill will make it harder for California school boards to ban books — and it’s picking up steam among lawmakers July 11, 2023
"AB 1078 was created in response to a Southern Californian school district, Temecula Valley Unified, banning a social studies curriculum because it included information about gay rights activist Harvey Milk. One of the first openly gay elected officials in the country, Milk served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors until his assassination in 1978."
Local control touted by opponents of California bill on school book bans July 5, 2023
(AB 1078)
"Supporters of the bill, including State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, argued Assembly Bill 1078 wouldn’t prohibit a school district from removing a book. However, districts could face consequences — like a monetary fee — if materials are removed for discriminatory reasons.
Opponents of the bill said it would remove local control from school boards and strip them of their power."
New taskforce aims to address diversity in curriculum and more (CSBA) June 22, 2023
"CSBA has sample policies available to help member school districts and county offices of education uphold their concurrent obligations to the law and to the interests of their communities..."
Educational Rights and Requests to Remove Instructional Materials Governor Newsom June 1, 2023
California Parents Union Response Letter June 3, 2023
LGBTQ+ clubs in schools
"Elk Grove Unified School District’s (EGUSD) has proposed significant improvements to its policies and administrative regulations which, if adopted at its upcoming September 17th board of trustees’ meeting, will end the district’s highly controversial practice of covertly recruiting young children to secret lunchtime clubs affirming sexual orientation and gender identity on its elementary school campuses. Parents became alarmed in early 2024 after learning that these undisclosed lunchtime clubs existed at Pleasant Grove Elementary School (PGES) and five other District elementary schools. These LGBTQ+ promoting clubs recruited children in the 8 to 12-year-old range and affirmed culturally controversial views about sexual orientation and gender identity—all without parental notice or consent. "
LGBTQ+ club allegedly created by teacher causes controversy at Elk Grove elementary school March 5, 2024
"CBS13 spoke with a legal expert who said the UBU club will need to abide by the same rules as all the other school clubs, and if the district notifies parents about other clubs, it would need to do the same in this case."
Gender Reports
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT children, gender & school policy (toolkit) An URGENT Conversation Restore Childhood
Gender Articles
U.S. Study on Puberty Blockers Goes Unpublished Because of Politics, Doctor Says New York Times behind paywall October 24, 2024
"An influential doctor and advocate of adolescent gender treatments said she had not published a long-awaited study of puberty-blocking drugs because of the charged American political environment."
Thing That Never Happens Has Happened Thousands Of Times In America October 9, 2024
"The line between child and adult has been queered into a blur. Pre-verbal children “know themselves” and their every fantasy must be believed, for they must lead us. Children need pronoun indoctrination and esoteric disembodiment to discover their true selves, so they can lead us. Children need “sex change” operations before they are old enough to have sex, so they can lead us.
It stands to reason that the sex lobotomy cult would prefer to sacrifice the bodies of children in the temples of adult medicine. That makes perfect sense."
VICTORY: California Dad Wins Custody of Son, 4, Over Mother Who Sought to Raise Him Nonbinary July 30, 2024
"Harrison Tinsley, now has full custody of his 4-year-old son, Sawyer, after a long legal battle prompted by his ex-girlfriend’s efforts to raise the boy nonbinary."
High Court judge in the UK upholds the government ban on puberty blockers July 29, 2024
"A High Court judge on Monday upheld the British government’s emergency ban on puberty blockers, saying a study that found “very substantial risks and very narrow benefits” of the treatment supported the restriction as potentially being harmful.
Justice Beverley Lang said a review commissioned by England’s National Health Service concluded that gender care is an area of “remarkably weak evidence” and young people have been caught up in a “stormy social discourse.”"
Teen’s Suicide Attempt Reveals Perils of CA’s Gender Secrecy Policies July 29, 2024
"A deeply disturbing case of a teenage girl being socially transitioned to a male identity by her Fresno County school without her parents’ knowledge has come to light in a federal lawsuit challenging gender secrecy policies within the state’s public schools. The family’s heartbreaking journey began when their 14-year-old daughter, identified as Poe in the lawsuit, attempted suicide, leading to a shocking revelation by medical professionals."
L.A. Judge Mark Juhas About to Authorize Transgender Crimes Against Humanity July 25, 2024
"Barring a down-to-the-wire miracle, as it stands, it appears that the child in question, James Younger, will begin chemical castration drugs to block puberty following a trial set to take place in early August. James Younger’s father, Jeff, has been trying to prevent his son’s medicalized gender transition and has argued that these experimental procedures are being forced upon his now 12-year-old son by his ex-wife, Dr. Anne Georgulas (GEORGE-uh-lis). Georgulas took him (and his twin brother Jude) to the Golden State following a drawn-out, highly contentious custody battle in Texas that made international headlines in 2018."
California School District Partners With LGBTQ Center That Recommends Transgender Surgeries for Minors July 24, 2024
"The high school in the Newport Mesa Unified School District in Southern California has scannable QR codes in its hallways that take students to a number of “LGBTQ+ Resources,” including the LGBTQ Center of Orange County’s website..."
Biden’s Title IX Rule Is Now Blocked in 14 States July 3, 2024
"The order halts the rule in Alaska, Kansas, Utah, and Wyoming. It also blocks the rule from taking effect in schools in Stillwater, Okla., the home of a middle school student who joined the lawsuit, as well as any schools attended by members of the Young America’s Foundation and the children of members of Moms for Liberty—two national conservative groups that signed onto the lawsuit.....
"Last month, two other judges issued orders temporarily blocking the rule from taking effect in Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia."
Biden DOJ Targets Texas Doctor Who Blew The Whistle On Transgender Treatment For Children July 1, 2024
"“Our client is a mandatory reporter of child abuse who reported as a whistleblower to the State of Texas what he had seen in his hospital,” said Marcella Burke, Haim’s attorney. “It is our opinion that this is the government going out of its way to prosecute a whistleblower.”
The leaked internal documents allegedly show that Texas Children’s Hospital continued to provide access to hormones and other “gender-affirming services” to minors, even after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion in 2022 stating gender-affirming care was a form of child abuse. Although attorney general opinion is not law, but rather an interpretation of existing law, the Texas AG’s views laid a foundation for Texas Governor Greg Abbot to later direct the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate parents pursuing gender-affirming care for their children.
In March 2022, a few weeks after Abbot’s announcement, Texas Children’s Hospital announced they would pause “hormone-related prescription therapies for gender-affirming services” for minors. Hospital leadership said the pause was “taken to safeguard our healthcare professionals and impacted families” from any potential legal repercussions.
However, Haim alleges that the hospital continued providing treatment to children in secret throughout 2022 and into 2023. While transgender care for minors was still legal in Texas, the notion that the hospital falsely claimed to have ended the treatments has not been well received by critics of the treatments. "
The Murky Business of Transgender Medicine June 18, 2024
"According to a new whistleblower, doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital were willing to falsify medical records and break the law to keep practicing “gender-affirming care.” Caught in the wave of ideological fervor, two of the hospital’s prominent physicians, Richard Ogden Roberts and David Paul, cut corners and, according to the whistleblower, committed Medicaid fraud to secure funds for the hospital’s child sex-change program."
Public School Gender Policies That Exclude Parents Are Unconstitutional June 12, 2024
"Parents’ constitutional right to direct the upbringing and education of their children is the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests ever recognized by the Supreme Court. But a rapidly growing number of school districts across the country, already more than 1,000, have policies denying parents even the knowledge that their children may have expressed a desire to change their gender identity and any say in how school personnel respond. The nature of this problem, the surge in transgender-identifying youth, and the well-established rights of parents call for more, not less. Parents must act now to force school districts to change these transition policies, urge state legislatures to prohibit them, and, if necessary, defend their rights in court."
New Study: Most German Youth Outgrow Gender Identity Diagnoses June 11, 2024
"A new long-term study from Germany suggests that the majority of young people diagnosed with gender identity disorders do not continue to identify as such over time. The study examined insurance data over five years, revealing that more than half of young people aged 5-24 across every age subgroup diagnosed with "gender identity disorder" no longer had the diagnosis after five years. Specifically, the desistance rate was 72.7% in 15- to 19-year-old females and 50.3% in 20- to 24-year-old males. Among the whole group of 5- to 24-year-olds, only about 36.4% of those diagnosed in 2017 still had the diagnosis five years later, indicating that more than 63% desisted." ......
"The research also noted a dramatic rise in the number of young people being diagnosed with gender identity disorders. In 2013, there were 22.5 cases per 100,000 insured young people, but by 2022, this had increased to 175.7 cases per 100,000, representing an increase of nearly 681%. The study highlighted that, in almost all years, the highest prevalence of gender identity disorder diagnoses was found in 15- to 19-year-old females. In 2022, this age group had a prevalence rate of 452.6 cases per 100,000."
Proposed gender identity measure fails to qualify for California ballot May 29, 2024
""While we are disappointed we didn't meet the threshold to qualify for the ballot, we are encouraged by the amount of support from every sector of the state," campaign organizer Jonathan Zachreson said in a statement."
Interview with Jennifer Bilek - The Transgender Agenda May 13, 2024
"My research indicates that gender ideology has been initiated by wealthy, influential individuals, families, and banks, invested in the medical-tech industry, to create malleability in the next generation, grooming their adjustment to advancing developments in technological reproduction and thinking of themselves as parts for this industry: breasts, penises, cervixes, wombs, vaginas, hormones, chromosomes, genes, sperm, eggs, instead of whole, integrated, biological systems, conditioning them to see their sexed realities as commodities."....
"Eugenics hasn’t really gone anywhere, it has gotten a facelift in the gender ideology movement, except people don’t understand what they’re looking at because it is wearing the garb of human rights. Children being sterilized under a guise of medical care are predominantly autistic, and those with other mental health issues. Young gay and lesbian people are also being captured in this eugenics atrocity. Both ideologies are grooming people, especially youth, to think of themselves as parts, commodities for the market, instead of whole biological systems attached to the rest of the biological world. These ideologies groom us toward greater dependence on tech and alienation from the living world that we are part of, or should be in mutuality with."....
75% of American Voters Oppose Gender Surgery for Minors May 8, 2024
"According to a June 2023 Harvard-Harris poll, over 75% of American voters across party lines oppose gender transitioning surgeries and hormones for minors, and a May 2023 Gallup poll found 69% think athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams which match their birth gender."
The Cass Review Won’t Fade Away April 22, 2024
"As much as I’d like to provide a tidy or hopeful ending, I can’t. I do know that at a certain point, professional organizations that want to retain even a modicum of credibility will have no choice but to remove their heads from their sand. The AAP is working on its own systematic review of these treatments, and it has no good outcomes available to it. The choice appears to be between a headache and a disaster: If the systematic review is competently conducted and concurs with all those other systematic reviews, GLAAD will be mad for a few days—maybe it will park a truck somewhere!—and that will be a headache. If the AAP’s findings break from the rest of the civilized medical world, that would be a disaster for the organization. In the long run, institutions and figures will be forced to follow the trail blazed by Europe, not out of any sense of moral duty toward trans and gender-nonconforming youth, which was abandoned long ago, but simply because of the sheer brute force of institutional and reputational incentives. The American era of youth gender medicine being “SETTLED SCIENCE!!!” has reached its sunset. "
U.S. Department of Education Releases Final Title IX Regulations, Providing Vital Protections Against Sex Discrimination April 19, 2024
"The final regulations are effective on Aug 1, 2024, and apply to complaints of sex discrimination regarding alleged conduct that occurs on or after that date."
Transgender Titanic Hits Iceberg of Truth and Is Sinking Fast April 18. 2024
"Parents need to understand that it has been well documented that more than 80% of children who experience gender dysphoria desist from those feelings as they transition into adulthood. There is a large and growing population of de-transitioning adults who live with regret. Why then, would we ever tell gender dysphoric children they were born in the “wrong body,” give them children puberty blockers or sex hormones or mutilate their bodies with sex-reassignment surgery? Even if a child could medically “change their gender” and buy some peace by doing so, the risks clearly far outweigh the rewards. "
Supreme Court Clears Way, for Now, for Idaho to Ban Transgender Treatment for Minors April 15, 2024
"The Supreme Court temporarily allowed Idaho on Monday to enforce a ban on gender-affirming treatment for minors, effectively suggesting that some justices appear comfortable with wading into another front in the culture wars."
Tennessee lawmakers pass bill criminalizing adults who help minors get transgender procedures April 12, 2024
"Tennessee lawmakers in the state's Senate on Thursday passed a bill on a 25-4 vote that would make it a felony for adults to aid minors in seeking gender transition procedures. It now heads to the GOP-led House, where it is expected to get additional Republican support. "
Most gender-confused children grow out of it, landmark 15-year study concludes - as critics say it shows being trans is usually just a phase for kids Daily Mail April 3, 2024
"'Indeed, we can infer from the DSM 5 [2013] and other sources that as many as 88 percent of gender-dysphoric girls and as many as 98 percent of gender-dysphoric boys in previous generations desisted if allowed to go through natural puberty.
'These two facts make it clear why “gender-affirming care” on minors is such an outrage. It leads, in the end, to sterilization and in many cases to a complete loss of natural sexual function.
'There is no good evidence that this helps minors long term. Moreover, it medicalizes what could very well be temporary psychological symptoms.
'History will judge this medicalized “gender-affirming care” on minors as we now judge eugenics and lobotomies.'"
Risk of Suicide and Self-Harm Following Gender-Affirmation Surgery April 2, 2024
"The results of this study indicate that patients who have undergone gender affirmation surgery are associated with significantly higher risks of suicide, self-harm, and PTSD compared to general population control groups in this real-world database. With suicide being one of the most common causes of death for adolescent and middle-aged individuals, it is clear that we must work to prevent these unfortunate outcomes."
"We have regulatory bodies to maintain ethical standards, and we therefore call on medical ethics boards across the US and the rest of the world to conduct urgent, unbiased, transparent, and rigorous reviews of the sex-trait modification interventions WPATH endorses. We also call on the APA, the AMA, the AAP, and The Endocrine Society to set politics aside and condemn the pseudoscientific, unethical medical practices of WPATH.
Furthermore, we call upon the US government to launch an official non-partisan inquiry into how an organization with such disregard for medical ethics and the scientific process was ever granted the authority to establish global standards of care in a field of medicine. We advocate for this drastic action due to the unwarranted prestige, undue influence, and resulting danger posed by WPATH."
UK Bans Puberty Blockers For Minors March 12, 2024
"Puberty blockers will no longer be prescribed to minors under age 18 in England outside of regulated clinical trials, the country’s National Health Service announced Tuesday, following an earlier review by the agency, the latest development in the controversial treatment that has sparked protests in the U.S., as well, over gender-affirming care in children."
Freedom of Sex The moral case for letting trans kids change their bodies. March 11, 2024
"The left must reckon with its part in this. It has hung trans rights on the thin peg of gender identity, a concept clumsily adapted from psychiatry and strongly influenced by both gender studies and the born-this-way tactics of the campaign for marriage equality. This has won us modest gains at the level of social acceptance. But we have largely failed to form a coherent moral account of whysomeone’s gender identity should justify the actual biological interventions that make up gender-affirming care. If gender really is an all-encompassing structure of social norms that produces the illusion of sex, critics ask, why would the affirmation of someone’s gender identity entail a change to their biology? As a result, advocates have fallen back on the clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, known until about a decade ago as gender identity disorder, defined as the distress felt at the incongruence of gender identity and biological sex. The idea that trans people fundamentally suffer from a mental illness has long been used by psychiatrists to decide who “qualifies” for transition-related care and who does not. By insisting on the medical validity of the diagnosis, progressives have reduced the question of justice to a question of who has the appropriate disease. In so doing, they have given the anti-trans movement a powerful tool for systematically pathologizing trans kids."
A heated custody battle over a transgender child in California stokes a viral debate LA Times March 4, 2024
"Bendapudi said that in addition to appealing Juhas’ order, they are working on federal legislation that would ban puberty blockers and other gender-affirming care for minors — which they said amount to child abuse and are what they fear the most for A."
EXCLUSIVE: How One Of America’s Largest School Districts Became A Pipeline For A Trans Youth Clinic February 28, 2024
"Emails show that administrators in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) immediately connected the middle school student who wanted testosterone therapy, a medical intervention that threatens to sterilize the user, with medical staff at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles Transyouth clinic, which describes itself as the “largest” transgender clinic in the country. Making the connection was easy — just weeks earlier, at the school district’s request, the transgender clinic gave a presentation to the school on the full menu of “possible interventions for navigating your child’s gender journey.”"
Development of Gender Non-Contentedness During Adolescence and Early Adulthood Archives of Sexual Behavior February 27, 2024
"The results of the current study might help adolescents to realize that it is normal to have some doubts about one’s identity and one’s gender identity during this age period and that this is also relatively common. Furthermore, the insight that gender non-contentedness is relatively common during early adolescence in a general population and youth psychiatric care sample, might provide some perspective to clinicians primarily seeing individuals with intense gender dysphoric feelings and give them a more comprehensive view on the range of developmental patterns of gender identity in the general population and in children receiving youth psychiatric care.
In summary, having the wish to be of the opposite sex is relatively common in this combined general population and clinical sample. Our data indicate associations between experiencing gender non-contentedness and a poorer self-concept and mental health throughout adolescence."
CA classrooms in the middle of culture wars February 14, 2024
"Bruce Fuller, an education professor at UC Berkeley, acknowledged the tension between the state’s duty to protect marginalized groups and the perception of having its own political (or what some now call “woke”) agenda.
- Fuller: “In civil society the state steps into families all the time to help families or to remove kids from abusive homes. So it’s not unprecedented that the state would bump into the rights of parents and families. But… you have to be super careful because otherwise you find yourself in this political tangle that we’re enmeshed in.”"
As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do. February 2, 2024
"Instead of promoting unproven treatments for children, which surveys show many Americans are uncomfortable with, transgender activists would be more effective if they focused on a shared agenda. Most Americans across the political spectrum can agree on the need for legal protections for transgender adults. They would also probably support additional research on the needs of young people reporting gender dysphoria so that kids could get the best treatment possible.
A shift in this direction would model tolerance and acceptance. It would prioritize compassion over demonization. It would require rising above culture-war politics and returning to reason. It would be the most humane path forward. And it would be the right thing to do."
Most ‘Transgender’ Kids Turn Out to Be Gay December 14, 2023
"Half a century later, the medical establishment is pushing a new kind of conversion therapy under the guise of transgender identity. No one is suffering more than gay kids. In Canada, where I practice, and in the U.S., physicians provide what’s euphemistically known as “gender-affirming care” to patients as young as 8, and the leading transgender health association has opened the door to interventions at even earlier ages. Under this framework, those who feel uncomfortable with their bodies may receive a medical regimen including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and sex-change surgeries. These interventions typically stunt, remove or irreversibly modify a patient’s sexual development, genitals and secondary sex characteristics. Any endocrinologist or other physician who rejects this approach is alleged to be endangering the health and even the life of his patients."
Non-Affirmation of Child’s “LGBTQI+” Identity Is Abuse Under Proposed Foster Care Rule November 19, 2023
"Despite ACF placing most of the rule’s requirements on agencies, rather than on providers to avoid substantially burdening their religious exercise, the underlying premise of ACF’s proposal is that those who hold to certain religious views of marriage, sexuality, and gender, or who believe “affirmation” is harmful, are unable to provide safe homes for children who identify as LGBTQI+."
Prenatal hormones play a major role in sexual orientation development, according to new research November 17, 2023
"A new scientific paper published in Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology provides evidence that the hormones present during early development in the womb can affect a person’s sexual orientation. These hormones appear to mainly work by influencing gene expression patterns in the developing brain, ultimately influencing whether someone will be attracted to the same or opposite sex."
A Plea for Scholarly Dialogue September 19, 2023
"The most likely explanation for these organizations’ missteps is that gender medicine enthusiasts convinced the already politicized leadership to support a simple, moralized narrative: medicalized and affirmative treatments are evidence-based and life-saving. The AAP policy statement frames resistance to puberty blockers, hormones, or surgeries as discrimination or adherence to disproven and outdated approaches such as watchful waiting. AAP ratifying this document indicated it was willing to tribalize a complex clinical dilemma and was not interested in engaging with good-faith scholarly skepticism. "
Identity Crisis: The Network Behind Gender Identity Ideology September 5, 2023 PART 4
"The point is that while there are legitimate questions and conversations to have regarding gender and sex, the discussion has been hijacked by a well-financed, decentralized network of ideologues who want to destroy the concept of gender altogether."
Identity Crisis: Shifting Government Policies September 1, 2023 PART 3
"In Sweden, similar actions have been taken. Remember that the Trans Train documentary series focused on the outcome of Sweden’s gender interventions, which have become increasingly common. Due to Sweden’s embrace of gender interventions there is much data on the long-term outcomes. For example, a 2011 study — which has been hailed as one of the most thorough follow-up of sex-reassigned people — documented the struggles of Swedish trans individuals decades after surgery. The study concluded that ten to 15 years after surgical reassignment the suicide rate of those who had undergone sex-reassignment surgery rose to 20 times that of comparable peers."
Identity Crisis: ‘Gender-Affirming’ Surgery, Social Contagion, Detransitioners, And The Autism Overlap August 31, 2023 PART 2
"Another major area of concern relates to studies highlighting an overlap between those on the autism spectrum and those identifying as transgender.
For example, a February 2022 independent review commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement highlighted a number of issues relating to gender identity and gender dysphoria treatments. The review, led by Dr. Hilary Cass, former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, found that,
“approximately one third of children and young people referred to the U.K.’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) have autism or other types of neurodiversity”.
Additionally, an August 2020 study found that individuals who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth are three to six times as likely to be autistic as those who identify with their biological sex. It also found that so-called “gender-diverse” individuals are also more likely to report autism traits and to suspect they have undiagnosed autism. The results come from an analysis of five unrelated databases that all include information about autism, mental health, and gender. The five datasets included 641,860 people; 30,892 with autism and 3,777 identifying as gender diverse.
The researchers explored the relationship between gender identity and six other mental health conditions which can occur simultaneously with autism, including schizophrenia, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study found that “gender-diverse” people have higher rates of all six conditions than cisgender individuals. The highest reported association was for autism and depression.
The authors concluded, “Our study demonstrates that transgender and gender-diverse individuals have elevated rates of autism diagnosis, related neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, and autistic traits compared to cisgender (normal) individuals. This study has clinical implications by highlighting that we need to improve access to care and tailored support for this under-served population.”
So with all this information regarding the lack of long-term safety data for hormones and body alteration surgeries, and detransitioners speaking out to warn others, and signs of a potential social contagion, why does it seem like these aspects of the conversation are not being highlighted by the media, academia, or the medical establishment?
Instead, we see the media, academics, and various medical professions promoting transgender rights regardless of the potential for harmful outcomes.
Identity Crisis: Gender Identity History, Puberty Blockers, And Hormones August 30, 2023 PART 1
"Dr. Michael Biggs’ September 2022 article published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy outlines the history of puberty blockers and hormones, and details how little evidence exists to back up the claims that they are reversible and safe. The article, titled “The Dutch Protocol for Juvenile Transsexuals: Origins and Evidence”, says the use of these drugs (Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone agonist or GnRHa) began in the mid-1990s in the Netherlands. Since that time the so-called “Dutch Protocol” has quickly caught on and has been adopted by pediatric endocrinologists all over the world.
Dr Biggs discusses how pediatric endocrinologists have ignored concerns about the impact the drugs have on bone density and cognitive function."
SCOOP: New mandatory hospital staff training promotes transitioning 4-year-olds August 30, 2023
"An employee at Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest healthcare providers on the West Coast, reached out to us after she was mandated to take a new staff training on “gender affirming care.” The employee, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of losing her job, was horrified that a healthcare facility would be promoting the mutilation and castration of children."
California school district settles with mother after school ‘transitioned’ daughter without her consent August 29, 2023
"In what's been called a landmark victory for parental rights, a California school district has settled for $100,000 with a mother who said her daughter was "socially transitioned" to a boy without parental knowledge or consent.
Jessica Konen said her 11-year-old daughter, Alicia, was told by her school in the Spreckels Union School District in Monterey County that she may be upset because she didn’t know who she "truly was inside." From there, the school allowed her to use the boy’s bathroom, used male pronouns to refer to her and was "socially transitioned" away from her biological gender.
Once Konen found out that her daughter was being identified as a male and socially transitioning without her knowledge, she sued the district. Her daughter has since decided to re-identify as a girl, and the California single mother vowed to keep fighting for parental rights after the settlement in which she was represented by the Center for American Liberty."
Gender Ideology Isn’t Kids’ Stuff Wall Street Journal July 17, 2023
"A campaign is under way to introduce schoolchildren to the latest ideas about sexual orientation and “gender identity.” Pupils in New Jersey are expected to understand the differences between these concepts by fifth grade. An official of the National Education Association, the largest U.S. teachers union, recommends asking preschoolers their “preferred pronouns.” The NEA’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ Caucus has a reading list for elementary-school children that includes titles such as “My Princess Boy” and “Jacob’s New Dress.”
It’s important that children learn to accept differences; but indoctrinating them or promoting an agenda is another matter. Parents, many of whom find such ideas objectionable or exotic, are often kept in the dark about what their children are being taught, or told they have no right to opt out if they are informed. Parents around the country have filed lawsuits alleging that school officials withheld vital information about their own children from them.
Children develop at their own pace. Many aren’t psychologically or emotionally ready to discuss or think about their “identity.” I have seen many young adolescents overwhelmed by the need to know “who and what I am” in a heated and socially pressured environment. I have even had teen patients tell me that “identifying as heteronormative”—yes, they’ve been trained to talk that way—is stressful in an environment that idealizes being “queer.”
Preadolescent children are only beginning to discover who they are. All children (adults too) have both masculine and feminine parts of their personalities, which they should be free to explore in play. If a girl doesn’t like wearing dresses and a boy enjoys playing with dolls, it’s cruel and destructive to lead them to believe they’re actually members of the opposite sex.
The harm to children is physical as well as psychological. Medical societies and some schools promote off-label puberty blockers and life-altering surgeries for children and adolescents diagnosed with “gender dysphoria.” Seattle schools teach fourth-graders that “some people decide, with the help of their doctor, to take medicine or hormones to change puberty on purpose to better match their gender.” Side effects of puberty blockers include mood disorders, brain swelling, seizures and cognitive impairment.
The Florida Legislature last year passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which requires that classroom discussion of sexual matters be “age-appropriate” and prohibits it altogether before fourth grade. It’s a good first step. Society needs to respect the role of parents and empower them to make decisions that are best for their families. For too long we have put the needs of adults over children when it comes to child care, education and safety—and now sexual ideology.
Ms. Komisar is a psychoanalyst and author of “Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters” and “Chicken Little The Sky Isn’t Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety.”"
21 international doctors sign open letter against youth transgender ‘transition’ procedures July 14, 2023
"A group of 21 doctors from countries around the world wrote publicly on Thursday that the ongoing push to provide young children with transgender “transition” procedures is unsupported by current evidence and that medical officials should shift their approaches to managing youth gender dysphoria....."
"In their response this week, the group of clinicians and researchers — from countries including Finland, France, South Africa, and the United States — argued that the risks of cross-sex hormone usage for youths “are significant and include sterility, lifelong dependence on medication, and the anguish of regret.”
A number of European authorities and international medical groups “now recommend psychotherapy rather than hormones and surgeries as the first line of treatment for gender-dysphoric youth,” the doctors wrote.
The writers urged medical societies in the U.S. to “align their recommendations with the best available evidence” rather than “exaggerating the benefits and minimizing the risks.”..."
"The “greatest reserve” is required for the usage of hormones in young children, the academy said, pointing to side effects “such as impact on growth, bone fragility, risk of sterility, emotional and intellectual consequences and, for girls, symptoms reminiscent of menopause."
Youth Gender Transition Is Pushed Without Evidence Wall Street Journal July 13, 2023
Judge rejects suit to force California schools to report students’ gender identity to parents EdSource July 14, 2023
"A federal judge in Sacramento ruled that California is not violating parents’ rights by requiring public schools to accept students’ gender identities and to let them decide whether to inform their families, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The state has a legitimate interest in “in creating a zone of protection for transgender students and those questioning their gender identity from adverse hostile reactions, including, but not limited to, domestic abuse and bullying,” U.S. District Judge John Mendez wrote in a ruling dismissing a constitutional challenge to the state law.
Contrary to the claim that the state is interfering with parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing, Mendez said, the Chico Unified School District in Butte County, sued for implementing the law, “refrains from interfering with the established parent-child relationship by allowing students to disclose their gender identity to their parents on their own terms.”"
California school district considers policy of outing transgender students to parents Sacramento Bee June 14, 2023
"The proposed policy would require schools to notify parents and guardians in writing within three days of learning that a student has requested to be identified by a different gender. They must also be informed if a student has used a name other than their legal name, or accessed a bathroom other than the one for their sex assigned at birth.
“This policy is meant to foster trust between district employees, and our students’ parents and guardians,” said District Board President Sonja Shaw in a statement. “I stand for the authority of parents to guide the upbringing of their children and their involvement in decisions related to their education, health, safety, and wellbeing.”"
California Bill Would Punish Parents Who Don't 'Affirm' Their Child's Gender Identity June 8, 2023
""When you say that gender affirmation is in the child's best interest for health, safety, and welfare, it takes nothing to say [non-affirmation] is now abuse because you're not taking care of the health, safety, and welfare if you’re not affirming them," said Erin Friday, a San Francisco attorney and co-lead of the parent coalition Our Duty."
Gender Cultists Make a Move for California’s Children June 21, 2023
"Today, the notion that “affirmation” is necessarily in the best interest of every child can no longer seriously be believed. In the last two years, England, Sweden, and Finland have all conducted rigorous scientific reviews of pediatric gender medicine and concluded the opposite. The efficacy, far too doubtful. The harms, to grave. These countries—every one of them liberal—responded to their independent reviews by shuttering pediatric gender clinics, curtailing the availability of these medicines, restricting them to experimental settings, or banning them entirely.
But in the United States, where medicine is decentralized and medical organizations politicized, no such inquest can switch off the fast-moving belt conveying children toward harm. Not even judicial review by the Supreme Court of the United States is likely to save families. As family-law expert Scott Altman, a professor at University of Southern California School of Law, said to me of AB 957: “I don’t think there’s any question that this is constitutional.”"
‘Gender Support Plans’ Trample Parental Rights
"Despite what schools claim when they roll out “gender support plans,” these plans do not make students safer. In fact, they present unique dangers to three specific categories of people.
First and foremost, these plans hurt the students themselves. Children experiencing discomfort with their sex deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. They need effective and compassionate mental health care. And they need their parents. No child should have to walk through something as difficult as struggling with their identity without the help of their parents. By excluding parents, denying biological reality to students, and depriving them of the help they need, school administrators are leading children down a dangerous path.
Second, “gender support plans” threaten good teachers and faculty by forcing them to lie to students and parents. Instead of encouraging students to work through confusion in a healthy manner, they are instructed to deny the truth about what it means to be male and female and then hide information from parents.
Finally, “gender support plans” harm parents by violating their basic right to direct the upbringing of their children. Parents have a responsibility to care for their children, especially when they are struggling, and school administrators have no right to exclude them from the lives of their children."
As more transgender children seek medical care, families confront many unknowns
"Dr Marci Bowers, a surgeon specializing in transgender procedures who became WPATH’s president in September, said in an interview that the organization is trying to find a middle ground between “those who basically would have hormones and surgeries available at a vending machine, let’s say, versus others who think that you need to go through all sorts of hoops and hurdles.”"....
"A growing number of gender-care professionals say that in the rush to meet surging demand, too many of their peers are pushing too many families to pursue treatment for their children before they undergo the comprehensive assessments recommended in professional guidelines.
Such assessments are crucial, these medical professionals say, because as the number of pediatric patients has surged, so has the number of those whose main source of distress may not be persistent gender dysphoria. Some could be gender fluid, with a gender identity that changes over time. Some may have mental health problems that complicate their cases. For these children, some practitioners say, medical treatment may pose unnecessary risks when counseling or other nonmedical interventions would be the better choice."
Thrown to the Wolves City Journal June 21, 2023
"Christopher Rufo: Please begin by setting the scene. What’s it like in a major children’s hospital in the United States regarding transgender interventions for children?
Physician: I think the best way to answer that question is to talk about the cultural shift that happened in 2020, because transgender ideology and Covid are inextricably linked. Normally, doctors operate by the authority of the professional societies that govern our specific practice. That worked because the individuals in those institutions were reliable, intelligent, and thoughtful. But with Covid in 2020, we started getting medical decrees without peer review or evidence—you saw this with masks, social distancing, and emergency-use authorizations. These decrees were expressed as something that everyone had to do, without justification based on sound science. The other thing was censorship. If you were to ask questions or express doubt about these medical decrees, you would be ostracized within your department, and you stood a good chance of being publicly humiliated, severely reprimanded, or fired.
That’s when transgender ideology really took off. Within these academic institutions, so-called experts in the field of transgender medicine would simply declare that puberty blockers and other interventions were the gold standard of care. The evidence to support this is completely fraudulent, but no dissent was permitted. Everyone within the medical community knew that if he questioned transgender ideology, he would suffer the same type of repercussions that had happened during Covid. The best way to describe the environment would be as an authoritarian, censorious culture that discourages any meaningful debate and encourages the demonization of anyone who asks questions."....
"Rufo: What are the main tenets of transgender medical theory that are enforced as the conventional wisdom? And how have those tenets changed medical practice?
Physician: One, when an individual believes he or she is of a certain sex, he or she is truly of that sex. Two, the ideal response is to affirm that individual’s preferred identity. Three, the repercussion of nonintervention is a higher likelihood of that individual committing suicide. The threat of suicide removes any of the guardrails for what we must do to affirm that individual’s identity. Puberty blockers become justified at 11 years old. Hormones become justified at 13 years old. Double mastectomy becomes justified before 18.
But in reality, when you “affirm” these individuals’ gender identity, what you are doing is affirming their hatred for themselves. You have these children who are going through confusing times, difficult times; when you affirm this belief system, what you’re really doing is telling them: “You hate yourself at this moment, and I will affirm that.” We have to ask ourselves, why do these people have such high rates of suicide? Because we’re affirming that they should hate themselves and that they should try to destroy themselves."....
"Rufo: What do you predict for the future of transgender medicine? Will it continue to gain ground, or will it all fall apart?
Physician: I don’t know. I pray that there is a change. One of the things I’ve been thinking about is what puberty blockers do to children. This medication is called a “gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist” and it comes in the form of monthly injections or an implant. And because it simulates the activity of this hormone, it shuts down the activity of the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is this almond-sized structure in your brain, it’s one of the most primal structures we have, and it controls all the other hormonal structures in your body—your sexual development, your emotions, your fight-or-flight response, everything. But it shouldn’t be described in such cold physiological terms because your hypothalamus is not just a hormone factory. It’s this system that allows you to stand in awe of the beauty of a sunset, or to hear the sounds of orchestral music and to stop whatever you’re doing and want to listen. And I always think that if someone were to ask me, Where is it that you would look for the divine spark in each individual? I would say that it would be somewhere “beneath the inner chamber,” which is the Greek derivation of the term hypothalamus. To shut down that system is to shut down what makes us human."
MP04-20 RATES OF PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCIES BEFORE AND AFTER GENDER AFFIRMING SURGERY The Journal of Urology September 1, 2021
"Rates of psychiatric emergencies are high both before and after gender affirming surgery. Although both the phalloplasty and vaginoplasty patients have similar overall rates of psychiatric encounters, suicide attempts are more common in the later. In fact, our observed rate of suicide attempts in the phalloplasty group is actually similar to the general population, while the vaginoplasty group's rate is more than double that of the general population. Patients undergoing GAS with a history of prior psychiatric emergences or feminizing transition are at higher risk and should be counseled appropriately."
Four Myths About Trans Athletes, Debunked ACLU April 30, 2020
"Though we are fighting every day in the courts and in legislatures, upholding trans rights will take more than judicial and legislative action. It will require rooting out the inaccurate and harmful beliefs underlying these policies. Below, we debunk four myths about trans athletes using the expertise of doctors, academics, and sports psychologists serving as experts in our litigation in Idaho."
Minors May Get Sex Changes Without Parental Consent, if California’s Teachers Union Has Its Way February 19, 2020
"On Jan. 26, CTA changed an existing policy to explicitly include transgender and non-binary youth among the students who can leave class without parental permission to receive birthcontrol, abortions, and other such services.
While the updated policy does not include “hormone therapy” explicitly, the rationale discussed by CTA’s civil rights committee in making the policy change indicates that’s the final goal......
"The policy now reads: “CTA believes comprehensive school based health care clinics are needed to bring caring and responsive services to young people. The clinics shall provide cisgender, transgender and non-binary youth equal and confidential access to decision-making rights for students and their families.”
The rationale behind this policy change was printed in a CTA Report of Board of Directors, Committees, and Items of New Business in June 2019."
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