S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. The Supreme Court blocked California's restriction on teachers notifying parents of their child's gender identity. We'll talk about what that now means. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. So should students have a right to privacy in California schools when it comes to gender expression ? That is the question. And in a Monday ruling , the U.S. Supreme Court says likely no. The court says California's policy on notifying parents about students gender identity may be unconstitutional. This case has ties to San Diego County , and KPBS education reporter Katie Anastas joins me now to talk about what this all means. Katie , welcome back to Midday Edition.
S2: Thanks , Jade.
S1: So this case has to do with a state law called the Safety Act.
S2: He is actually the person who wrote this bill , and that bill prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to automatically notify parents if their children want to change the pronouns or names that they use at school. And when he announced this bill back in 2024. Ward said that that policy would out transgender students without their consent. And here's what he said.
S3: It puts them at risk and removes the opportunity for families to build trust and have conversations on their own terms. Although many LGBTQ youth have supportive families , some unfortunately continue to face rejection and are exposed to serious harm if prematurely forced to reveal their identity.
S1: So some teachers and parents have argued that this violates their rights.
S2: So this Escondido school district had a policy saying teachers couldn't disclose a student's gender identity to their parents without that student's consent. And these two teachers said that that violates their free speech and religious rights. And since then , four parents have joined this legal fight. So now it includes both parents and teachers. They sued the state of California over that statewide policy we just talked about , and they said that the state law violated their religious and due process rights by allowing their kids to what's called socially transition at school. So that's meaning using different names and pronouns at school. So essentially , these parents are saying as parents , we have the right to raise our kids in a way that aligns with our beliefs , and this policy is undermining our right as parents to do that.
S1: Well , so walk us through the steps then leading up to this decision.
S2: So a lot has played out in the last few months. So back in December , a federal federal judge here in San Diego issued an order blocking the state law. Then the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals suspended that judge's order pending further review of this state law. Then the parents and teachers filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court , asking them to allow that original order from the federal judge to remain in effect. Basically , while the Ninth Circuit continues its review. And what happened yesterday is that the majority of the Supreme Court said , okay.
S1: So this has there's been a lot of back and forth here.
S2: While the Ninth Circuit Court continues to review the state's appeal. So this essentially all goes back to the lower court. If that lower court rules in favor of the state of California , it could end up going back to the Supreme Court again. So. At the end of the day , the state law is kind of on on pause at the moment. And what I'll be watching for is whether any local school districts decide to put parental notification policies in place in the meantime. Hmm.
S1: Hmm.
S2: So the California Republican Party chair , um , Karen Rankin , said that this shows , quote , if a school is making life changing decisions about your child , you have the right to no end. Quote. The Thomas Moore Society is a conservative law firm involved in this lawsuit. And they said that this is they called it tearing down a wall of secrecy between parents and their kids. Meanwhile , LGBTQ rights advocates have a lot of concerns about this. They , you know , were strong supporters of this law. And the California Federation of Teachers , which is a statewide teachers union , called it a direct attack on the safety of LGBTQ students. We haven't seen any statements yet from state Attorney General Rob Bonta , but the , uh , the California Federation of Teachers says they stand with him as he , quote , continues to fight to ensure that schools are welcoming and safe places for learning for all students. End quote. Wow.
S1: Wow. In recent years , we've seen local schools become a space for politics , in particular some of cultural issues like LGBTQ plus identity or ethnic studies.
S2: And part of the reason why I love covering schools and school boards is that it kind of takes a national level conversation or debate and takes it to individual and local communities , and you see how these different communities handle it in different ways. So , um , you know , we've seen it most recently in things like immigration enforcement policies. You know , how is a district going to handle federal immigration agents seeking to access student records or student information ? There are some districts , like San Diego Unified , that work very quick to outline policies on how teachers and staff should approach that situation. Um , you know , in an effort to protect students. Then there are other districts like the Grossmont Union High School District , uh , and their board just declined to vote on a policy like that. So I think whether it's something like this parental notification , uh , process or it's a policy on ice enforcement. These things are kind of starting at the local level , making their way up to the state level. The state implements a statewide policy , and then it's getting challenged at the federal level. And with the Supreme Court that is in place right now. It's conservative leaning , and we're seeing the Supreme Court rule in a conservative way. So I think it's interesting to see these debates kind of reach a national stage. And then you remember that at the center of this is , you know , a kid in Escondido or , um , you know , applies to local communities that are , um , right , you know , talking about it amongst themselves at this local level. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Earlier you mentioned you're going to be keeping an eye out on how local school districts respond to this change. Are there any particular districts you'd expect to to be seeing changes sooner rather than later.
S2: Well , one , one district that comes to mind. Based on KPBS past reporting , is the Ramona Unified School District. They say they considered. Changing their rules regarding whether transgender students could play on girls sports teams. Um , that's another debate that we've seen reached the national level. We've seen the state get involved. And Ramona Unified School Board has implemented a policy saying we're not letting transgender students play on girls sports teams.
S1:
S2: Um , it's , you know , statistically , it's a small number , relatively small number of transgender students who , um , are playing sports and are out. And you know who this who this rule applies to. So , um , that's one district I'll be watching , just because they've kind of gone through a similar debate. Um , a similar a different but related debate. Okay.
S1: Okay. Ethnic studies maybe.
S2:
S1: But yeah , these are all questions I got to know. You have to ask these days. I so appreciate your insight on this , Katie. Thanks for covering it. I've been speaking with KPBS education reporter Katie Anastas. Katie , thank you so much.
S2: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman.
S4: Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
