School board battles over LGBTQ+ issues are intensifying in California after State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond was cut off at a public meeting in Chino on Thursday for speaking out against a proposal that would notify parents about students’ gender identities.a school board in Temecula for refusing to teach state-approved LGBTQ+ history lessons that feature slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk.
“You’re in Sacramento proposing things that pervert children,” Shaw shouted at Thurmond during the meeting, accusing him of blackmailing and bullying school district leaders who support the proposal. sent to Chino Valley Unified Superintendent Norman Enfield by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who warned that legal action could be pursued, as children are protected by privacy and nondiscrimination laws.“The protection of every student’s privacy and safety is of utmost importance, and that includes protecting their right to choose when, how, and with whom they share their gender identity. That is a personal decision for them, and them alone,” Bonta said in a statement Thursday.
“With LGBTQ+ youth around the country under attack, the school board put their most vulnerable students in harm’s way with their dangerous vote to forcibly out trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming youth without their consent,” Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang said Friday. “While they certainly have the votes to control the agenda in Sacramento, they do not have the votes to stop us in our communities,” Essayli said of state Democrats in a statement following the failure of his bill.
“The problem with our current moment is not too much democracy, but too little. Public school governance, at its best, brings together diverse members of the community to forge a vision for a shared future–one that embraces the values of a diverse democracy,” the study stated.