In a heated school board meeting with the State Superintendent in attendance, the Chino Valley School Unified School Board approved a parent notification policy last week to make sure schools aren’t keeping secrets from parents regarding their children. The California Family Council helped promote the policy in conjunction with the Coalition for Parental Rights and Assemblyman Bill Essayli to make sure schools let parents know if their children are injured at school, bullied or being a bully, show signs of suicide, and especially if a child is struggling with gender dysphoria.
Over 80 people were given one minute each to express their support or opposition to the policy, at last Thursday’s school board meeting, including the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. Thurmond opposed the policy saying it would put LGBTQ-identified students in danger from non-affirming parents, but when he went over his time speaking, School Board President Sonja Shaw turned off his microphone, as she did other speakers who spoke longer than permitted.
California’s State Superintendent of Public Institution, @TonyThurmond , attended the CVUSD board meeting to oppose a notification policy which will protect children & parental rights.
— CA Family Council (@CAFamily) July 21, 2023
After Thurmond’s time is up to speak, Board President Sonja Shaw informed him that he did have… pic.twitter.com/UaUA6FS4yr
After he was done, Shaw thanked him for coming but then added, “We’re here because of people like you. You’re in Sacramento, proposing things that pervert children.” At this point Thurmond returned to the microphone in an attempt to respond, something against the rules established for everyone else. Despite Shaw’s repeated attempts to get Thurmond to sit down, he refused. She then called for a 5-minute recess. According to the video and a press release from the school district, school security approached Thurmond and asked him to sit back in his seat. Instead of sitting Thurmond walked out of the room followed by staff, supporters and a security guard.
Thurmond immediately responded on Twitter and to the media that he has been “thrown out” and “forcibly removed” from the school board meeting, an account district personnel have officially requested Thurmond to correct as false. (Video shows Thurmond exit here.)
After the board approved the new notification policy with a 4 to 1 vote, the Coalition for Parental Rights released the following statement congratulating Shaw and the board for approving the coalition’s model Parental Notification Policy.
“We are extremely pleased and proud of Sonja Shaw and her board for passing a policy that acknowledges the important role parents play in the mental and emotional health of their children,” stated the Coalition for Parental Rights.
“Gender dysphoric children are not served by schools who hide their struggles from their parents. Schools should be encouraging the bond between students and their parents, not telling students to fear, distrust, and reject the people in their lives that love and care for them the most.”
“As confirmed by the school district’s attorney Anthony De Marco, this policy is legal and the CDC directive about the supposed privacy rights children have from their parents is ‘guidance’ and ‘not law.’ We anticipate other school districts around the state to follow CVUSD’s example and enact similar policies to protect children by safeguarding their relationship with their parents,” said the Coalition. (Watch De Marco’s testimony here)
(Watch the entire school board meeting here)
The CVUSD’s Parental Notification Policy requires schools to notify parents if:
- Their children have had any significant physical injury while at school;
- A school employee suspects or has knowledge of a student’s suicidal intentions;
- There is any incident or complaint of a verbal or physical altercation involving their child, including incidents of bullying by or against a student.
- A student is requesting to be identified or treated, as a gender other than the student’s biological sex.
“This policy is meant to foster trust between district employees, and our students’ parents and guardians,” CVUSD President Sonja Shaw said. “I stand for the authority of parents to guide the upbringing of their children and their involvement in decisions related to their education, health, safety, and wellbeing.”
“Schools should never keep secrets from parents, nor put teachers in a position where they have to lie to them,” she said.
