Murrieta, Temecula School Districts 'Warned' Following Court Ruling

CALIFORNIA — A court ruling Thursday appears to have bolstered California Attorney General Rob Bonta's efforts to overturn a policy recently adopted by a handful of Golden State school districts, including Murrieta Valley and Temecula Valley.

The San Bernardino Superior Court’s oral ruling from the bench — issuing a preliminary injunction against Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education’s mandatory gender notification policy — further halts enforcement of the controversial action, for now.

The policy adopted by the CVUSD governing board in July requires the district's schools to inform parents/guardians, with minimal exceptions, whenever students request to use names or pronouns different from those on their birth certificates or official records. It further instructs that parents/guardians be notified if students access programs, activities and/or facilities that do not align with their official records.

A copycat CVUSD policy — dubbed an "outing policy" — was adopted over the summer in both the Murrieta Valley and Temecula Valley unified school districts. Elsewhere in the state, Orange Unified School District, Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District, Rocklin Unified School District, and Anderson Union High School District also adopted the policy.

In Thursday's ruling, Judge Michael Sachs said the main provisions of the CVUSD policy are unconstitutional because they violate the Equal Protection Clause of California's Constitution and discriminate against transgender and gender nonconforming students.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed Aug. 28 in San Bernardino Superior Court by Bonta, in which the attorney general argues the CVUSD policy infringes on several state protections safeguarding students’ civil and constitutional rights. The lawsuit also alleges the policy puts transgender and gender-nonconforming students in danger of "imminent, irreparable harm from the consequences of forced disclosures."

Thursday’s oral ruling finds that the state "is likely to prevail" in its lawsuit because "the forced outing policy provisions" violate California’s equal protection clause, according to Bonta.

In early September, the San Bernardino Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order against the CVUSD policy, which immediately halted the action's enforcement. Now, with the injunction in place, the courts have more time to decide the merits of the state's lawsuit against the CVUSD.

“I commend the San Bernardino Superior Court for reaffirming and upholding the constitutional rights and protections of transgender and gender-nonconforming students,” Bonta said. “Today’s bench ruling is a significant step forward that will set a precedent in our efforts to ensure every student is guaranteed the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes nondiscrimination, safety, and inclusivity."

Bonta also issued a rebuke to districts like Murrieta Valley and Temecula Valley.

"Let this decision serve as a stern warning to other school districts that have passed or are contemplating similar policies: enforcing discriminatory practices will not be tolerated in our educational institutions," he said.

Liberty Justice Center is defending CVUSD. The law firm's president, Jacob Huebert, argues that "the Fourteenth Amendment and over a century of legal precedent guarantee parents the right to direct their children’s upbringing, and nothing in California law requires schools to keep secrets about children from their parents. We are confident that as litigation continues, the Court will find that the Attorney General’s case has no legal basis and will rule in Chino Valley’s favor.”

The matter of mandatory parental notification is a legal muddle and remains unresolved for school districts as they continue with the 2023-2024 school year. In July, a suit against Chico Unified School District over its policy prohibiting disclosure of students’ transgender status without their consent was tossed out. Separately, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California issued a preliminary injunction in September preventing the Escondido Union School District from taking disciplinary action against teachers for violating its policy that deems transgender students’ gender identity and expression private and not subject to disclosure to parents/guardians.