Costs requiring California schools to tell moms and dads if kid is transgender denied committee hearing

A Republican effort requiring California schools to inform moms and dads if their child is transgender came to a stop in an Assembly committee Monday, April 10.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, who chairs the Education Committee, revealed he would not arrange a hearing on AB 1314, which would provide schools three days to notify parents in writing when a school staff member learns a trainee is recognizing as a gender that does not line up with their birth certificate or other main records.

The expense, sponsored by GOP Assemblymember Bill Essayli of western Riverside County and Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City, faced opposition from LGBTQ advocates who warned it could harm transgender youths whose parents aren't accepting of their gender identity.

Muratsuchi said in a press release he would not set a hearing "not just because the costs is proposing bad policy, however also since a hearing would possibly provide a forum for increasingly despiteful rhetoric targeting LGBTQ youth."

" This bill would require teachers to 'out' a trainee to their moms and dads, even when the student does not feel comfy coming out, possibly requiring them into a violent or unwelcoming home," Muratsuchi said. "As a moms and dad, I believe that gender identity discussions in between moms and dads and their kids ought to occur in a safe and personal space."

The choice not to hold a hearing "is symbolic of where Sacramento Democrats base on parental rights," Essayli said in a news release. "They believe the federal government owns our children and that parents do not have a right to know what is occurring with their own children at school."

He included: "Gender dysphoria is a serious concern, and moms and dads require to be familiar with the associated psychological health threats trans minors deal with. Research studies are clear that trans minors do better with parental participation. Leaving parents in the dark is unsafe and unconstitutional."