New CA bill introduces ban on school policies ‘forcibly outing’ LGBTQ+ students
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — State lawmakers are introducing a new bill that would prohibit California’s school districts from enacting policies requiring educators to inform parents about transgender students’ identities.
The measure will be added to Assembly Bill 1955, which was introduced by Asm. Chris Ward (D-San Diego) earlier this year, through a maneuver called a “gut-and-amend,” replacing an existing bill with an entirely new one.
Under the revised version of the bill, called the “Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth” or SAFETY Act, school districts would be barred from enacting what Ward describes as “forced outing polices,” or rules mandating educators to inform parents about their students’ gender identity or sexual orientation if they are open about it at school.
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The bill would also direct the state’s Department of Education to provide resources for parents and students to navigate conversations about gender and sexual orientation on their own terms, and create protections for staff against retaliation if they refuse to out a student.
“Forced outing policies that require exposing students’ (identities) without their consent harm everyone — parents and guardians, families, school staff, but unnecessarily, students,” Ward said in a press conference on Wednesday announcing the change. “It puts them at risk and removes the opportunity for families to build trust and have conversations on their own terms.”
The proposed law codifies existing guidelines from the state Department of Education on how districts should accommodate its LGBTQ+ students, particularly those that are transgender or non-binary, for better academic outcomes while protecting their right to privacy.
However, it comes amid growing fights over policies about when — or if — parents should be informed about an LGBTQ+ student’s identity, balancing the privacy of those who may feel unsafe coming out to their family with the inclusion of parents in their child’s education.
School districts across the state have taken contrasting stances on the best way to approach the issue, drawing controversy and, in some cases, lawsuits.
A handful of these suits have resulted in conflicting legal interpretations of how schools are supposed to handle issues of student privacy, with both “forced outing” and student privacy policies having been struck down by California judges.
It comes as more than a dozen school districts across the state have opted to implement parental disclosure rules, which mirror laws enacted in at least six states across the country since 2020 — stances that advocates describe as harmful to the health and safety of LGBTQ+ students.
Research has shown a majority LGBTQ+ youth do not live in homes they view as supportive of their identity, and those who live in such environments but are outed before they are ready seeing higher rates of experiencing homelessness, familial abuse and suicidal ideation.
One of the most frequent places where LGBTQ+ youth access spaces that affirm their identity outside the home is at school. A 2021 survey from The Trevor Project reported about half of LGBTQ+ students said school was a place they felt comfortable to be their most authentic self.
“Had I not had a single supportive adult in my life, I never would have been able to find the strength to come out to my family, or to teach them what I had learned about who I am on my own,” said Kai, a Northern California-area LGBTQ+ youth, at Wednesday’s press conference.
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For Kai, that supportive adult was a teacher who he felt comfortable confiding in about his gender identity. However, he remained apprehensive about how his parents would react, so he said he “asked she show the discretion I needed to feel safe and she did.”
“Having a trusted adult is paramount to making sure a queer kid makes it to their next birthday,” Kai added. “Without my teacher, I would not be here today. Please don’t let another child endure the consequences of that support system being taken away due to forced outing policies.”
With the SAFETY Act’s introduction, it will now be heard by the Senate Education Committee, which was where the previous version of bill had been before it was revised. If it is approved by the full Senate, it will return to the Assembly to consider again before heading to the governor’s desk.
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