A California district judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a school district’s policy that keeps students’ gender transitions from their parents, according to a press release.
In January, Aurora Regino filed a lawsuit against the Chico Unified School District after a counselor allegedly helped her 10-year-old daughter transition genders without the mother’s knowledge. Eastern District of California Judge John Mendez dismissed the lawsuit stating that district staff are not directed to keep a student’s gender transition from their parents, according to a Wednesday press release. (RELATED: Mom Sues School That Allegedly Hid Her Daughter’s Gender Transition, Provided Chest Binders)
“We know there are differing viewpoints as it pertains to this case,” the school district said in its press release. “Chico Unified appreciates the patience of our community as we worked through the legal process. More importantly, the resolution of this case allows Chico Unified to maintain our focus and financial resources on the education and support of the students in the Chico Unified School District.”
Regino sued the school district after she found out that her daughter had begun to secretly transition genders at school. A school counselor had been advising the 10-year-old girl that she was a boy and convinced her to use he/him pronouns and a male name at school, the lawsuit alleged.
In April, despite the lawsuit, the Chico Unified School Board voted to keep its policy in place which states that educators must keep a student’s change in pronouns or name confidential unless the child gives written permission for their gender transition to be shared.
The Chico Unified School District is not only transitioning students behind parents’ backs – they are also allowing boys into the girls’ locker room. Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/tFaLRySy6E
— Center for American Liberty (@Liberty_Ctr) April 21, 2023
The court order reads, “…District staff are not directed to force students to adopt transgender identities or keep their identities secret from their parents. Instead, District staff are directed to affirm a student’s expressed identity and pronouns and disclose that information only to those the student wishes, with an exception for the student’s health. On the Regulation’s face, it is undisputable that the decision to openly express a transgender identity through the use of a different name and pronouns is made by the student, not the District,” according to the press release.
Throughout the country, school districts have implemented policies that keep student’s gender transitions a secret from their parents; a parental rights group has tracked 1,000 school districts, including 17,612 schools and more than 10 million students, that have “Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Policies” in place which advise educators on how to keep a student’s transgender status hidden from parents. The tracker includes some of the largest school districts in the country including Seattle Public Schools in Washington and Los Angeles Unified School District in California.
“Chico Unified’s secrecy policy reflects a growing trend of schools across the country violating parents’ constitutional right to raise their children free from unreasonable government interference,” Mark Trammell, executive director of the Center for American Liberty, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Regino, told the DCNF. “This ruling is the latest example of a lower court failing to properly recognize the true scope of parents’ rights. The Supreme Court must take the lead and define how far the constitutional rights of parents extend.”
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