Huntington Beach, California is suing the state over a new law that does not require teachers to keep parents in the loop about their child’s so-called “gender identity.”
This week, Huntington Beach Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, a Republican, called the bill an “egregious piece of legislation that seeks to compel educators to keep secret from parents sensitive, private, and often life-saving information related to their child’s gender issues and/or expression” in a published statement.
“The State’s AB 1955 law compelling secrecy not only puts children at risk, it is also an unconstitutional invasion of the parent/child relationship by the State. To that end, the City of Huntington Beach is challenging the State on federal claims in federal court with the filing of this lawsuit,” she added, explaining that America First Legal Foundation has offered to support the legal expenses and prosecute the case.
“We want to thank the individual parents and children from Orange County, Los Angeles County, and other counties in California, who have agreed to join the lawsuit,” she continued. “If there are any parents with children in public schools in Huntington Beach who would like to join the case anonymously, please contact the Office of the City Attorney.”
BIG LAWSUIT https://t.co/b0wLjOTAhA
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) September 19, 2024
The lawsuit points out that students in the state can decide to “transition” at any age, unbeknownst to their parents (via HuntingtonBeachCa.gov):
Assembly Bill 1955 (“AB 1955”) prevents schools from requiring that parents be informed when their child begins to exhibit this mental health disorder, such as by requesting to be called by a name and pronoun of the opposite sex.
And AB 1955 sets no age limit—schools cannot notify parents even if preschoolers socially transition.
[...]
In short, AB 1955 makes it harder for schools to prevent secret social transitioning, harming parents, children, and communities. That’s because a child with gender dysphoria often has other mental health issues. To help their child, parents need to know what is going on. Imagine the outrage if parents were kept in the dark about a child’s epileptic seizures at school and the treatment being provided that child by school employees for that condition.
Yet whether a child socially transitions or announces their sexuality is a personal and private issue, not an educational issue. The State is thus intruding in a very personal, private matter—communication on one of the most intimate of topics between a parent and child—in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Newsom signed the bill into law in July, which Townhall covered.
“This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents,” Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Newsom, told the Associated Press at the time. “It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations.”