AB1955 will stop school districts from notifying parents if their child starts using different pronouns or identifies as a different gender than what’s on their school record.

Written By Kelly Daniels // EEW Magazine

Many conservative parents are concerned and fuming after California became the first U.S. state to bar school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s gender identification change.

The new law, AB1955, signed Monday by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, has created a firestorm of controversy.

In essence, the law bans school rules requiring teachers and other staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission. Proponents of the legislation say it will help protect LGBTQ+ students who live in unwelcoming households. Opponents argue it will hinder schools’ ability to be more transparent with parents and fracture parental relationships with children.

The legislation comes amid a nationwide debate over local school districts and the rights of parents and LGBTQ+ students.

“This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents,” Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement. “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.”

AB1955 comes after several school districts in California passed policies requiring that parents be notified if a child requests to change their gender identification. This led to push-back by Democratic state officials, who assert that students have a right to privacy.

Jonathan Zachreson, an advocate in California who supports parental notification policies, opposes the law and said telling parents about a student’s request to change their gender identification is “critical to the well-being of children and for maintaining that trust between schools and parents.”

Billionaire Elon Musk, a fierce opponent of the new law signed by Newsom, announced he’s moving the headquarters of SpaceX and social media company X to Texas from California. He called the parental notification ban the “final straw.”

“I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children,” Musk wrote.

The California law led to heated debate in the state Legislature. LGBTQ+ lawmakers have shared stories about how it was difficult for them to decide when to come out to their families, arguing that transgender students should be able to share that part of their identity on their own terms.

State Assemblymember Bill Essayli, a Republican representing part of Riverside County, is an outspoken opponent of the law. He has criticized Democratic leaders for preventing a bill he introduced last year, AB 1314, which would have required parents to be told of their child’s gender identification change, from receiving a hearing.

The language of the bill mandated this: “If a child requests to be publicly addressed by a gender pronoun other than their sex at birth, or to use facilities of a different gender, a parent must be notified.”

Essayli argued, “Public policy should never presume a parent does not have the best interest for their child—however policies at schools across the state do just that. My bill will reset the appropriate relationship between educators and parents, and reaffirm that children are the domain of their parents, not the government."

But it never saw the light of day.

The conservative group, the California Family Council, said the law violates parents' rights.

"This bill undermines their fundamental role and places boys and girls in potential jeopardy," Jonathan Keller, the council's president, said in a statement. "Moms and dads have both a constitutional and divine mandate to guide and protect their kids, and AB 1955 egregiously violates this sacred trust."