Murrieta Valley USD Won't Enforce Parental Notification Policy

MURRIETA, CA — Amid state pressure, the Murrieta Valley Unified School District won't enforce its policy requiring that parents be notified if their children identify as transgender.

In an April 10 letter to the district, the California Department of Education ordered the MVUSD to rescind the policy that was approved by the school board in a 3-2 vote last August and reaffirmed this year. The policy requires parents or guardians to be notified if their children ask to identify as a gender other than the “biological sex or gender listed on the student’s birth certificate or any other official records.”

Following an investigation, the CDE determined the district policy was illegal under state law because it singled out and adversely impacted one group of students. According to the CDE, the policy offered no educational or administrative purpose that could justify the discrimination.

The district can request a reconsideration of the CDE finding within 30 days from the date of the letter. It's not immediately clear if it will.

On April 12, MVUSD officials notified district families that the policy would not be enforced.

The district’s policy mirrored those enacted by other California public school districts, including Temecula Valley Unified School District. School districts in Orange, Placer and San Bernardino counties have also adopted it.

In January, Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a legal alert addressed to the boards and superintendents of all California county education offices, school districts and charter schools, warning them against implementing forced gender identity disclosure policies.

The policies are unconstitutional, Bonta said. They infringe on several state protections safeguarding students’ civil and constitutional rights, including California’s Equal Protection Clause; California Education Code Sections 200 and 220 and Government Code Section 11135; and California’s constitutional right to privacy, according to Bonta.

"In sum, by singling out transgender and gender nonconforming students for different, adverse treatment that puts them at risk of harm, forced disclosure policies violate their constitutional right to equal protection and privacy, as well as their statutory protection from discrimination under California law," Bonta's legal alert read.