This California school district passed a ‘forced outing’ policy. Now it’s backing down

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SOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BACKS DOWN ON PARENTAL NOTIFICATION POLICY

A Southern California school district that passed a policy last year requiring that parents be notified if their child uses different pronouns or a different name while at school will not enforce that policy.

In a message to parents and students last week, Murrieta Valley Unified School District wrote, “an administrative regulation has never been developed and the policy has not been implemented nor enforced.”

The announcement was first reported by the Press-Enterprise.

The Murrieta school district was one of the first in California to adopt the policy, which critics have called a forced outing policy because it could see transgender students’ gender identities revealed to their parents against the student’s will.

The school district declined to comment for this story. Thursday, the school district board will vote on a proposal to formally rescind the policy.

The school district board voted last year 3-2 to enact the policy, which was based on failed legislation authored by Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Corona, that would have required such a policy to be implemented statewide.

California law, and the state’s Department of Education, prohibit the involuntary disclosure of students’ sexual orientation of gender identity.

Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with Chino Valley Unified School District — the first district to enact such a policy — which has resulted in a judge blocking part of the policy from going into effect while the matter is being litigated.

The CDE earlier this month issued findings that the Murrieta school district policy is discriminatory, and ordered the district to provide written notification to school personnel and students that the policy will not be implemented.

Critics were quick to applaud the decision.

“We can’t say it enough: forced outing policies are unnecessary and cruel, and open students up to harm and discrimination,” said Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, in a statement.

He said that the Murrieta school district’s decision to abandon implementation “is an unequivocal win for students in the district.

“It also sends a warning to districts across the state that anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination is a losing battle in California,” Hoang said.

WE’RE (STILL) NO. 5

Via David Lightman...

The state’s economy remained the world’s fifth largest last year, according to new data from the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office analyzed the numbers and found the state remained behind the U.S., China, Germany and Japan.

Earlier this month, the California Center for Jobs and the Economy, an affiliate of the California Business Roundtable, warned the state could drop to sixth.

At the moment, that’s not happening. The state’s Gross Domestic Product, the value of its goods and services, is was an estimated $3.86 trillion last year. India was next at $3.57 trillion.

No other state, though, came close to California. Texas ranked ninth at $2.56 trillion. Also in the top 20 were New York at 12 ($2.15 trillion) and Florida at 19 ($1.58 trillion), down one place as it was overtaken by Spain.

California, though, doesn’t look likely to reach number four anytime soon. Japan held that spot at $4.2 trillion.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The political gamesmanship of a Democrat working to run against a Republican in the fall may increase cynicism at a time when some voters are feeling distrustful of democracy and elections. After a decade of experience with the open primary, it may be time for California to reconsider the process.”

- Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California, in a blog post.

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