California moves to ban schools from notifying parents of child pronoun changes

The California Senate has approved a bill that bans schools from telling parents if their children want to change their pronouns unless the children give consent or other law requires it.  

AB-1955 passed along party lines, with all 29 Democrats voting in favor and their eight Republican colleagues voting against. It now moves to the state Assembly, where it must be passed by committees and on the floor before it can be sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk. 

The bill seeks to prohibit school districts and governing bodies of other educational institutions from "enacting or enforcing any policy, rule, or administrative regulation that requires an employee or a contractor to disclose any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent unless otherwise required by law, as provided." 

It would also prevent governing bodies from "retaliating or taking adverse action against an employee on the basis that the employee supported a pupil in the exercise of specified rights, work activities, or providing certain instruction, as provided." 

Among those opposed to the proposal was Republican state Sen. Kelly Seyarto, who said, per the Assosited Press, that schools should be doing more, not less, to inform parents of what goes on inside the classroom. "If we include parents," he argued, "that's the best way to take something from people being angry and mad to developing a solution that works for everybody." 

His sentiments were shared by California Family Council vice president Greg Burt, who warned against "assum[ing] that all parents are unsafe." Those in favor of the bill cited examples of youth whose families were not accepting of their identities being kicked out of their parents’ house.  

Newsom has not commented on the bill, but said he looks forward to reviewing it, should it arrive at his desk.