SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Southern California school district involved in an ongoing legal battle with the state over the district’s gender-identity policy sued Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday over a new law banning districts from requiring that parents be notified of their child’s gender identification change.
The Chino Valley Unified School District and a handful of parents argued the law violates the rights of parents protected under the U.S. Constitution.
“School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school,” Emily Rae, a lawyer representing the district, said in a statement. Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit. Newsom spokesperson Brandon Richards said Monday that the new California law will “keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents.
” “It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations,” Richards said in a statement. Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Chino Valley Unified over a rule its board approved last year requiring school staff to notify parents if their children change their gender identification or pronouns. Bonta said the law discriminated against gender non-conforming students.
A judge .