CA School District and Christian Parents Sue Governor Newsom Over Secrecy Bill

In a battle to protect parental rights, the Chino Valley Unified School District and eight Christian parents have filed a lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Robert Bonta, and State Superintendent Tony Thurmond. The lawsuit, initiated by the Liberty Justice Center, challenges AB 1955, recently signed into law by Governor Newsom.

AB 1955, proposed by State Superintendent Thurmond, authored by Assemblyman Chris Ward (D-San Diego), and backed by the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, prohibits parental notification policies. Specifically, it bans schools from informing parents if their children request to be referred to by different names or pronouns or seek to access sex-segregated facilities inconsistent with their birth gender. The bill mandates that such information be kept secret from parents.

The plaintiffs argue that AB 1955 infringes on the constitutional rights of parents to know and make decisions about their children’s welfare. Emily Rae, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, stated, “Parents are the legal guardians of their children, not Governor Newsom or school officials. This bill enables children to make potentially life-altering decisions without their parents’ knowledge, which could have devastating consequences.”

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California,  seeks an injunction to prevent the law from being enforced, emphasizing the fundamental rights of parents to be informed about significant aspects of their children’s lives.

“We fully support the Chino Valley Unified School District and the brave parents standing up against AB 1955. This lawsuit is a crucial step in ensuring that parents retain their God-given rights to direct and oversee the upbringing of their children,” said California Family Council President Greg Burt. “We are confident that the courts will recognize that the state has no authority to assume parents’ beliefs and values are dangerous to their own children. Protecting the rights of parents is essential to safeguarding the well-being and future of our families.”

The lawsuit’s main arguments center around three constitutional principles. First, the plaintiffs argue that AB 1955 violates the First Amendment by compelling school staff to withhold information from parents, thereby infringing on the parents’ right to receive information about their children. This suppression of information undermines parental authority and infringes upon free speech rights by restricting what teachers and school officials can communicate to parents.

Second, the complaint asserts that AB 1955 violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. This clause protects the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children. The plaintiffs argue that by excluding parents from critical decisions about their children’s gender identity and expression, the state is unlawfully interfering with this parental right.

Third, the plaintiffs highlight that AB 1955 contravenes FERPA, which grants parents the right to access their children’s educational records. By withholding information about a child’s request to be identified by a different name or pronoun, the bill obstructs parents’ federally protected rights to access and manage their children’s educational records, thus violating FERPA provisions.

This legal challenge highlights the ongoing debate over parental rights and government involvement in education, with profound implications for families across California. The outcome of this case could set a precedent for how similar laws are contested nationwide.

For more information on the lawsuit, visit the Liberty Justice Center’s case page (Liberty Justice Center) (Liberty Justice Center) (Liberty Justice Center)