California amends law: Schools can't tell parents child's pronouns

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law, the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act, which restricts schools from informing parents solely based on a student's preferred pronouns used at school. The law also mandates the State Department of Education to create resources that bolster support for LGBTQ+ students.

Safeguarding gender identity

The California LGBTQ Caucus, a group of legislators focused on LGBTQ+ issues, views the SAFETY Act as essential to prevent schools from disclosing a student's gender identity against their will. This follows the implementation of "forced outing" policies in some schools during 2023, which required teachers to notify parents if a student expressed a transgender identity. The SAFETY Act prohibits this practice, ensuring a consistent approach for teachers across the state. The legislation received widespread backing from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and the California Teachers Association.

Parental rights vs. student privacy

While the SAFETY Act gained support within California's legislature, it also faced criticism. The California Policy Center, an organization known for its opposition to the state's Democratic government, argues the law unfairly restricts parental rights. They contend that student privacy shouldn't completely override parental rights, stating that "protecting a child's privacy from the public is important, but children don't have absolute privacy that trumps well-established parental rights."

Balancing privacy and communication

Proponents of the law counter this argument by suggesting that parental rights don't necessitate schools informing parents about a child's chosen pronouns at school. They believe a student's gender identity is "best addressed in conversations between the child and their parents, on the family's terms."