AG Rob Bonta’s Political Lawsuit Against Chino Valley School Board Lacks Legal Ground

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit filed August 28, 2023, to immediately stop the Chino Valley Unified School District from “outing” transgender students to their parents.

What is Bonta’s justification? He claims the Chino Valley policy “violates the California Constitution and state laws safeguarding civil rights, and has already caused and is threatening to cause LGBTQ+ students with further mental, emotional, psychological and potential physical harm.”

Bonta’s lawsuit is only possible because Democrats in the California Legislature killed AB 1314 by Assemblymen Bill Essayli (R-Corona) and James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) to legally solidify that a parent or guardian has the right to be notified in writing within 3 days from the date any teacher, counselor, or employee of the school becomes aware that a pupil is identifying at school as a gender that does not align with the child’s sex on their birth certificate. AB 1314 would have reaffirmed parental rights, but Democrats in the California Legislature killed the bill in the Assembly Education Committee by denying even a hearing on the proposed legislation. Specifically, Committee Chairman Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) refused to allow the bill to be heard.”

As the Globe reported last week, “There are California school districts which have secretly transitioned students without notifying their parents.

What are those civil rights laws and constitutional protections Bonta claims trans school children have?

Bonta says “Education is a fundamental right in California” under the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution. Okay. I agree. “Including those students who are transgender…” Absolutely. Children are children.

Then his lawsuit says Chino Valley Unified School District “singled out an especially vulnerable group of children and youth for discriminatory treatment: transgender and gender nonconforming students.”

Here are some specifics of the lawsuit:

According to AG Bonta, this is “forced disclosure.”

Besides being legally feeble, Bonta’s lawsuit is just the latest dubious attempt by California state officials to run roughshod over parental rights, as well as rejecting parents’ rights and concerns for the health and welfare of their own children.

“Transgenderism” up until very recently, was rare. It was also referred to by the American Psychiatric Association as “gender identity disorder” …until they changed it to gender dysphoria in order to “reduce stigma surrounding trans people.”

And now we have many many examples of school officials coercing and bullying confused children into adopting the identity of the opposite sex; convincing children that their mental anguish is because they do not belong in the girl/boy body in which they were born.

The Chino Valley Unified School District board merely authorized notification to parents if a child starts to identify as a different gender. That is a really drastic event and one in which parents need to know about.

Bonta’s lawsuit says:

If a student got into a fight at school and his arm was broken, the school would notify the parents.

If a child vomited in class, the school would notify the parents and insist they pick her up from school.

But if your daughter goes to school and expresses confusion over her gender to her teacher, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta, not only does that teacher not have to notify parents, the teacher now has unfettered access to your daughter and the ensuing discussions about gender, sex, and transitioning, without your knowledge, consent or input.

Parents bad; school officials good. In the Communist Manifesto of 1848, Karl Marx called for the abolition of the family. Marxists also realized that the way to completely change society was to destroy the most important civil society institution, the family.

“Transgender students in unsupportive or unsafe environments suffer significant levels of discrimination, abuse, and harassment, both physical and mental, well above their non- transgender peers.” Bonta is referring to your home, with your children.

This is no assault on the privacy rights of students, but is an assault on the rights of parents. Bonta claims that school officials are bound by constitutional standards to hide information about student gender identity and sexual behavior from parents.

If a child comes to school with obvious evidence of cutting up and down her arm, is the school obligated to notify parents? We used to assume that schools were obligated to report to parents.

Bonta’s lawsuit says without legal citation:

Bonta cites “reports” and “studies” but no legal cases. He even cites the California Endowment… as if that is credible.

“A report analyzing 2017-2019 data concerning students across 2,749 California schools—in grades seven, nine, and 11—found that transgender students in California reported negative school experiences and poorer mental health ‘at higher rates’ than any other ‘sexual orientation subgroups.’ (Hanson et al., Understanding the Experiences of LGBTQ Students in California (Oct. 2019) The California Endowment, pp. 9, 52, https://tinyurl.com/v452ty7s.).”

In Bonta’s lawsuit, there are anecdotal stories by teachers about how the “forced disclosure provisions have created an environment of fear that has substantially harmed their students.”

Here is California Constitution, Article 1, section 1:

“All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy.”

Bonta’s argument is really weak and looks more like a political stunt or political campaign.

These are still students – minor children – under age 18 – parents are legally and morally responsible for their children. If your kid borrows your car and plows into a Dollar Store, the parents will be held financially responsible for the property damage.

And one parent has already won a lawsuit against a school for doing just what AG Bonta claims is illegal: California Mom Jessica Konen just settled for $100,000 her lawsuit against the Spreckels Union School District in Monterey over the middle school there that tried to cajole her 11-year-old daughter into becoming a boy without her knowledge.

More parents need to sue school districts for illegal transitioning of their children, and perhaps name California Attorney General Rob Bonta in the suit.

Here is AG Bonta’s video announcement – be sure to watch the entire press conference. It is noteworthy that Bonta prioritizes children’s desire “to be yourself, be who you are,” and “as their authentic selves,” over their adult parents’s concerns, authority and experience.

This is the lawsuit: