(NewsNation) — Public schools throughout the United States are considering or have already adopted policies dictating whether parents have a right to know if their child asks to use a different name or pronouns at school, and arguments over it have landed in court.
California is the latest spot where the debate has made it into the courthouse. On Friday, a judge will hear arguments in a case that would determine whether the parents of transgender and gender-nonconforming students at Chino Valley Unified School District be notified if their child asks to change their identifiers.
The case is emblematic of disagreements over similar policies nationwide in states including Massachusetts, Virginia and Wisconsin. In California, Attorney General Rob Bonta has spoken out against so-called “outing policies” in several school districts.
Those in favor of such policies say parents have a right to be informed about their child’s health and well-being and that schools have a duty to respect parents’ values and beliefs.
Meanwhile, those opposed to mandatory disclosure policies cite statistics about the harm that can result from parents not accepting their child’s gender identity.
A 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that 10% of respondents said an immediate family member had been violent toward them because they were transgender, and 15% ran away from home or were kicked out of their home because they were transgender.
Which states have laws in place?
Chino Valley’s policies have made headlines, but the issue isn’t exclusive to California.
Five states — North Dakota, Iowa, Indiana, North Carolina and Alabama — have laws requiring that kind of disclosure, according to the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), which tracks LGBTQ+-related legislation nationwide. Each of those laws was adopted between 2022 and 2023.
Additionally, six states — Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Kentucky and Florida — encourage but don’t mandate disclosure, according to MAP.
The majority of the known LGBTQ+ population in the U.S. lives in states that don’t have those laws. About 7% live in states that do, and 12% live in states that promote but don’t require disclosure, according to MAP.
Which states are considering them?
The Associated Press reports 25 proposals have been introduced across 14 states to allow teachers or other students not to use the names and pronouns that align with a student’s gender identity.
Among those states is Oklahoma, where the state education department proposed a rule that would require schools to tell parents if a student begins expressing questions about gender identity, the AP noted.
A New Jersey school district also went back and forth on the issue, local outlet NJ.com reported. Currently, New Jersey doesn’t have statewide mandated disclosure policies on the books, according to MAP.
One federal measure — a GOP bill seeking a “Parental Bill of Rights” — would require schools to notify parents about potential changes to a minor child’s gender markers, pronouns or adjustments regarding the locker room or bathroom they use. The bill passed the House in March.
At least a dozen other proposals would also require schools to notify parents of gender identity changes in most situations, according to the AP.
Legal Battles
In California, Bonta obtained a temporary restraining order, halting the policy he said violates students’ right to equal protection, nondiscrimination and privacy.
“The forced outing policy wrongfully endangers the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of non-conforming students who lack an accepting environment in the classroom and at home,” Bonta said in an official statement.
Supporters of the policy, however, claim it protects parental rights.
“Parents have the right to decide how best to raise their children,” said Vincent Wagner, senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been involved in lawsuits related to the issue. “That means no parent should be kept in the dark about profound and difficult decisions faced by his or her own child.”
Similar battles are taking place in states like Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Virginia.
In Massachusetts, 16 attorneys general signed a brief in support of protecting the privacy of transgender students who have shared their identity with school staff.
Earlier this month, a Wisconsin judge blocked a school district’s policy that allowed students to change their names and gender pronouns without their caregivers’ permission.
And in Virginia Beach, two parents filed a lawsuit last month urging their local district to adopt Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s new policies on transgender students, according to the AP. One of those policies would prevent transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams.