Neither California officials nor the Chino Valley Unified School District have appealed a court ruling over the district’s revised parental notification policy that would inform parents if their child requests changes to his or her school records, according to the school board president and the state attorney general.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the original Chino Valley policy mandated the “forced outing” of transgender students, while parental rights advocates say the state has encouraged school staff to keep parents in the dark about social gender transitions and that parental authority outweighs student privacy.
School Board President Sonja Shaw told The Epoch Times in a text message on Feb. 19 that the state’s decision not to appeal against the court decision upholding Chino Valley Unified School District’s policy to notify parents when students request changes to their official or unofficial records is a “huge win.”
The court ruling is “a monumental win for parental rights and transparency in our schools,” Shaw said in the statement. “The victory in California courts reinforces the rights parents have in making decisions about their children’s education and the critical role parents play in guiding their child’s education, wellbeing, and safety.”
In October 2023, Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs issued a preliminary ruling blocking the district from enforcing a large portion of the policy, arguing it was discriminatory because it “treats otherwise similar students differently based on their sex or gender identity.” However, the judge allowed the district to inform parents about requested changes to a child’s school records.
The district then revised its policy in March 2024. The revision removed the language requiring staff to notify parents about changes to names, pronouns, or preferred facilities, but left intact the requirement that school administrators must notify parents within three days if their child requests changes to their official or unofficial records.
According to court documents, the state continued to argue that while the revised policy is “gender-neutral on its face,” it “was enacted with the same discriminatory animus” as the previous policy.
Now, with neither side filing appeals by the Dec. 22 deadline, the case is closed and Chino Valley Unified School District can continue to enforce its revised parental notification policy.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta told The Epoch Times in an email on Feb. 19, “It is categorically false that the State of California failed to appeal as the Liberty Center should have filed an appeal to the Court’s decision. By not appealing, Chino Valley Unified must adhere to the permanent injunction and declaratory relief.”
Emily Rae, a senior attorney at Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit law firm representing the district, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 19 that the ruling was a partial win and and partial loss for both sides.
“So, in reality, how it works with the district now is, if a child wants to transition, parents are still notified, but they’re not notified that their child is transitioning. They’re notified that the student records have changed, and then the parents can inquire further and ask what got changed on the record, and then the school will not lie to parents,” Rae said.
