Judge upholds Chico school district’s protection of students’ gender identity from parents

A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Chico Unified School District’s policy of protecting the gender identities of students from their parents.

U.S. District Court Judge John Mendez said in a ruling that the authority of the district to safeguard the information overrode parental rights. In doing so, Mendez also kept intact guidance by California school officials to shield the privacy rights of transgender students.

Chico staff were not forcing students to adopt a different identity or telling them to keep it secret from their parents, the judge wrote. Instead, school officials were just allowing students to choose who they wanted to share their identities with. The only exception was for health reasons.

The decision from Mendez, who is based in Sacramento, comes as states across the country are diverging widely in their support of transgender children.

The ruling was prompted by a lawsuit filed in January on behalf of Aurora Regino, the mother a child who was in elementary school last year. She is represented by the Center for American Liberty, which is led by Harmeet Dhillon. Earlier this year, Dhillon lost a bit to lead the Republican National Committee.

Regino’s child, then 11, began identifying as a different gender than was assigned at birth and told a school counselor. The counselor encouraged the student to adopt a new identity, go by different pronouns and told the child’s teachers about the change, according to the lawsuit.

Regino said the district should have informed her too. The child later returned to being identified by the gender assigned at birth.

“Parents, not schools, have the right and responsibility to make major life decisions on behalf of their minor children,” the lawsuit argued.

That, and other arguments on Regino’s behalf, did not convince Mendez.

“The issue before this Court is not whether it is a good idea for school districts to notify parents of a minor’s gender identity and receive consent before using alternative names and pronouns, but whether the United States Constitution mandates such parental authority,” Mendez said. “This Court holds that it does not.”

The judge said the district had shown a legitimate reason for protecting the wishes of students. If not, they could face domestic abuse, bullying and other harassment.

The California Legislature was best suited to address Regino’s concerns, Mendez added.

A proposal introduced earlier this year by Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Corona, would give parents the right to know if their child at school is identifying by a different gender. But the bill has not received a hearing.

Mark Trammell, the executive director of the Center for American Liberty, said in a statement that a different body should make a decision on the issue.

“The Supreme Court must take the lead and define how far the constitutional rights of parents extend,” he said.

Trammell added that the ruling was expected to be appealed.