Anderson Union School Board Could Withdraw Controversial Parental Notification Policy On Gender

Self-identified “militia” member Richard Gallardo speaks to the Anderson Union High School District Board on August 22, 2023. Photo by Annelise Pierce.

Last month, the Anderson Union High School District Board (AUHSD) approved a parental notification policy that critics say creates significant concerns for both students’ civil rights and teachers’ labor rights.

On Tuesday, September 19, Board members will review that policy and consider rescinding it to allow for more stakeholder engagement.

The new policy requires credentialed staff, including teachers and counselors, to report to a parent within three days if any student requests to be identified as a gender at school that is different than the one listed on their official school records. The policy also addresses parental notification in the case of a physical accident, bullying, or suicidal ideation. 

The policy was spearheaded by a single board member, Jackie LaBarbera, and was developed without any other stakeholder involvement, LaBarbera confirmed for Shasta Scout by phone last week. It passed the AUHSD board by a four-to-one vote, with only Board President Joe Gibson voting against it.

LaBarbera also heads up an ad hoc committee formed to provide the board with input on three other current AUHSD policies, one of which is similar to the new policy. Despite the overlap in topics with what the study team is reviewing, participants were not offered a chance to review the new policy before LaBarbera submitted it to the Board, she told Shasta Scout by phone after the meeting. The new policy includes a sub-note saying it “supersedes all other policies.”

California’s response to the new AUHSD Board policy was nearly immediate. By the end of that week, Attorney General, Rob Bonta, had issued a statement referring to the AUHSD parental notification policy as a “forced outing policy” saying it violated students’ constitutional rights and the state’s anti-discrimination laws including California’s Equal Protection Clause, California’s Education and Government Code, and California’s Constitutional Right to Privacy. 

The next week Bonta sued Chino Valley School District over its recently passed policy, saying it “infringes on several state protections safeguarding students’ civil and constitutional rights.”

Within a week of the lawsuit against Chino Valley School District being filed, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Thomas Garza issued a temporary restraining order against the District to temporarily halt the use of the new policy. Judge Garza said he filed the restraining order because he views the policy as “singling out a class of protected individuals,” something that would violate the students’ rights to equal education and equal protection.  

Attorney General Bonta praised Garza’s decision to temporarily halt the school’s policy saying it “rightfully upholds the state rights of our LGBTQ+ students community and protects kids from harm. Just under 2% of California youth identify as transgender according to research from the University of California, Los Angeles. The society for Research in Child Development indicates that supportive school policies can help reduce stigma against trans youth, decreasing the mental health risks associated with discrimination. 

Meanwhile, in Shasta County, the Gateway Unified School District placed the same parental notification policy on its board agenda last Thursday, September 12. Camille King, a parent who is running for a vacant seat on the GUSD Board, said during public comment at the that she highly encouraged the board to pass the new policy and that members should not worry about consulting legal counsel before doing so.

AUHSD Board member, LaBarbera also spoke to the GUSD Board meeting saying that the parental notification policy breaks no laws and that she is in contact with Sonja Shaw, Board President of Chino Valley School District, who said that the district will receive pro bono legal representation from the nonprofit Liberty Justice Center (LJC). LaBarbera says the LJC has offered similar pro-bono assistance to other schools across California.

“I personally talked to their lead attorney as a school board member yesterday and they absolutely said if Bonta comes after us they will represent us as a school district pro bono as well,” LaBarbera emphasized.

Board Member Lindsey Haynes told the Board and the public that LJC has also reached out to Gateway offering to represent the District pro bono. She said passing a parental notification policy does not mean the District won’t focus on academic matters too.

“I believe we can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Haynes said.

Her statements did not convince Gateway Board members Phil Lewis and Dale Wallace to vote for the new policy, which failed to pass.

Anderson Union High School District Board members will meet tonight, September 19, to discuss the new parental notification policy and other matters in open session, beginning at 6:30 pm at the Anderson Union High School Library. You can find the agenda here. Public comment on agendized items such as the parental notification policy will be taken by the Board just prior to that agenda item.

Have questions, concerns, or comments? Reach out to us: editor@shastascout.org.