"Schooled" On The Law IN Public Education

While a California school district settle suit by parent alleging school officials “coached” student to change gender identity without parental knowledge, the State of California sues another district over its “outing” transgender students policy

On August 31, 2023, NBC News reported Spreckels Union School District has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a suit over administrators’ alleged support for a student’s gender transition, which allegedly occurred took place without the knowledge of the student’s mother.

The suit alleged that the district and three of its employees “secretly convinced” Konen’s child that the minor was bisexual and transgender and encouraged the student to conceal it from Konen, allegedly violating her 14th Amendment rights to direct her child’s upbringing.

A federal judge approved the settlement last month and later ordered the case dismissed with prejudice. The settlement is a compromise between the parties and does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing, specifically stating that the defendants deny any liability. An independent investigation the school district commissioned by a law firm last year found that the teachers named in Konen’s lawsuit did not “coach” students in changing their gender identities or deceive administrators or parents.

Meanwhile, on August 28, 2023 Education Week reported that California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit against  Chino Valley Unified School District challenging the district’s policy that requiring principals, teachers, or counselors to notify parents when students change their gender identity or pronouns. Bonta’s suit alleges the policy violates the California Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection, privacy, and the fundamental right to education.

“Every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity—regardless of their gender identity,” Bonta said in a statement. “The forced outing policy wrongfully endangers the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of non-conforming students who lack an accepting environment in the classroom and at home.”

What happens in California won’t stay in California. These “culture war” disputes will spread like wildfires through the states. Instead of resources being focused on students receiving a quality education, school districts, administrators, teachers, parents and students will be swept in legal fights over protecting students’ right to privacy, specifically deciding whether to acknowledge their transgender status to family members, in particular their parents. In the prefect world, where all parents would react in clam rational matter manner that their child’s gender identity does not match with the sex on the child’s birth certificate, there would no need to school officials to protect that child. However, the real world is inhabited with parents would react in an emotional manner with fear and trepidation resulting in denial and attempts to force that child to conform with their beliefs, religious or otherwise, that gender is immutable and binary.

More litigation to come, largely at the expense school districts’ finance resources.