On July 15, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1955 into state law. This deplorable legislation bars school districts from requiring staff to notify parents if their child decides to change their gender. No other state in the country has passed such a drastic law. In fact, according to the Movement Advancement Project, eight states have already passed laws requiring school districts to inform parents if their children ask to use names or pronouns associated with another gender.

The haughtily titled “Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act” specifically forbids schools from adopting any policies that force them to disclose “any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent.”

In the past, these matters were handled on the local level, but not anymore. Chino Valley Unified, Murrieta Valley Unified, Temecula Valley Unified, Orange Unified, Anderson Union High School District, Rocklin Unified, and Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District were among the school districts that had passed parental notification policies.

The law is atrocious on so many levels. As mandated reporters, teachers are required to notify the authorities of any suspected child abuse. But this law assumes that the parents of some six million children are abusers, and the state needs to protect their kids from them. AB 1955 replaces parents with school counselors, teachers, and mental health providers.

Jonathan Keller, president of the California Family Council, summed up the new law, saying, “By allowing schools to withhold vital information from mothers and fathers, this bill undermines their fundamental role and places boys and girls in potential jeopardy. Moms and dads have both a constitutional and divine mandate to guide and protect their kids, and AB 1955 egregiously violates this sacred trust.”

Thankfully, legal action has been filed opposing the new law. On behalf of the Chino Valley School District, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on July 16 challenging the newly enacted legislation. Emily Rae, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, explains, “PK-12 minor students, most of whom are too young to drive, vote, or provide medical consent for themselves, are also too young to make life-altering decisions about their expressed gender identity without their parents’ knowledge. But that is precisely what AB 1955 enables—with potentially devastating consequences for children too young to fully comprehend them.”

Rae adds, “School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school. Parents are the legal guardians of their children, not Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta, or Superintendent Thurmond. We will continue to defend parents’ rights and children’s well-being by challenging invasive laws like AB 1955 in court, at no cost to taxpayers.”

Predictably, Gov. Newsom pooh-poohed the lawsuit. The governor’s spokeswoman, Izzy Gardon, called it “deeply unserious” and expressed confidence that a judge would quickly dismiss it. “California law ensures minors can’t legally change their name or gender without parental consent, and parents continue to have guaranteed and full access to their student’s educational records consistent with federal law. We’re confident the state will swiftly prevail in this case,” she said.

Also, on X, Newsom had the temerity to post “#AB1955 preserves the child-parent relationship…”

Conservative Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Riverside, maintains that the issue will be settled in court. He is “committed to challenging the bill in court, and he’s confident he’s on the right side constitutionally,” said Shawn Lewis, Essayli’s chief of staff. Essayli plans to work with a coalition of advocates to challenge the bill, Lewis added.

If the law stands, what can parents do?

Keri Ingraham, a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute, writes, “Families With Schoolchildren Should Flee California.” She simply and accurately explains that it’s “mothers and fathers who know their children best and love them most. Mothers and fathers have been with their children since birth and will remain in their lives long past the school year. And mothers and fathers are ultimately responsible for the well-being of their children.”

One famous fleer is Elon Musk, who announced on X, “Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.”

Musk added, “I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.”

While the Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion trends seem to be leveling off or even ebbing, the transgender craze is still in full bloom, at least in the very tarnished Golden State.

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Larry Sand, a retired 28-year classroom teacher, is the president of the non-profit California Teachers Empowerment Network – a non-partisan, non-political group dedicated to providing teachers and the general public with reliable and balanced information about professional affiliations and positions on educational issues. The views presented here are strictly his own.