Conference scheduled regarding Rocklin Unified gender policy

Rocklin Unified School District policy requiring school staff to notify parents if students identify as transgender has sparked legal challenges from state agencies and teacher associations - with state regulators ordering the district to remove it, calling the policy discriminatory and in violation of California law. In September 2023, the school district passed a policy that required school staff to notify parents if their child requests to identify with a gender that does not align with their biological sex. This includes using different pronouns, names or bathrooms that did not match their upbringing. This policy was added to Board Policy Manual Rocklin Unified School District "Regulation 50:20: Parent Rights And Responsibilities" after the board passed it in a 4-1 vote. In April 2024, the California Department of Education filed a writ of mandate against the district to revoke the policy. The case is still open with a status conference scheduled Tuesday, May 13. The policy required for parents to be notified within three school days "when their child requests to be identified as a gender other than the child's biological sex or gender; requests to use a name that differs from their legal name (other than a commonly recognized nickname) or to use pronouns that do not align with the child's biological sex or gender; requests access to sex-segregated school programs and activities, or bathrooms or changing facilities that do not align with the child's biological sex or gender. Notification shall be made by the classroom teacher, counselor, or site administrator." The policy states the only exception to the three-day rule is if requirements are involved. "Such notification shall only be delayed up to 48 hours to fulfill mandated reporter requirements when a staff member in conjunction with the site administrator determines based on credible evidence that such notification may result in substantial jeopardy to the child's safety," the policy states. Members of the Rocklin Teachers Professional Association (RTPA) filed an unfair practice charge against the school district in October 2023, claiming it violated the Education Employment Relations Act. Around the same time, a Placer County educator, whose identity has been blacked out from the court document, filed for an investigation from the California Education board claiming the policy is discriminatory. An email sent to the California Department of Education (CDE) said, "While there are many people disgusted with the actions of the Rocklin school board, there are just as many who are in support of this unfair (and hopefully eventually illegal) policy. I️ hope that you will look into this inequitable policy and see that is discriminatory in nature towards our most marginalized students." On Feb. 1, 2024, the CDE sent an investigation report to the Rocklin school district. The letter from the CDE cites Education Code (EC) AB200 and 220 stating, "California has stated an intent to allow all persons in public schools to be free of discrimination based on characteristics enumerated in California law. Among other such protected characteristics, California expressly prohibits discrimination by public education agencies on the basis of gender, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation." It states the district's policy "singles out and is directed exclusively toward one group of students based on that group's legally protected characteristics of identifying with or expressing a gender other than that identified at birth. And the application of that policy adversely impacts those students." The CDE letter included corrective actions ordering for the district, including informing all school personnel and students the policy is inconsistent with EC section 220 and the mandatory notification requirements will not be implemented. The school board did not do the corrective actions but instead submitted a request for reconsideration at the end of February 2024. The CDE responded to the request a month later, on March 27, addressing each point from the school board's legal team. The email stated there was no violation of procedural due process. It also stated "parental rights are not absolute or unlimited," "parents do not have a fundamental right to dictate the policies of the public schools that their children attend," and "parents do not have a fundamental right to be informed of their students' transgender identity at school." The email mentions that disclosing the gender identity of a student is not considered "medical care" and that "being transgender itself is not a medical or psychiatric condition." It also stated that while parents have the right to access their children's educational records, "Rocklin's policy requires disclosure of LGBTQ students' verbal request related to their LGBTQ status that are not written educational records." The request for reconsideration was denied yet the school board did not take back the policy or notify parents. In April 2024, the CDE filed a writ of mandate against the district to revoke the policy. In June 2024, the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) filed a cease-and-desist order for the school district to remove the policy. At the time, Rocklin Unified School District said in a statement it planned to appeal the order. In July 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1955 into law. Known as the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today's Youth Act or SAFETY Act, AB 1955 prevents schools from requiring staff to notify parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ. The act states "policies that require outing pupils without their consent violate pupils rights to privacy and self-determination. Pupils have a constitutional right to privacy when it comes to sensitive information about them, and courts have affirmed that young people have a right to keep personal information private. Laws and policies that target or invite targeting of pupils on the basis of gender or sexual orientation are prohibited under state and federal law." The bill also states that "no school employee should suffer an adverse employment action because the employee supported a pupil or pupils in exercising their legal rights to privacy, nondiscrimination, state-aligned instructional materials, and equal educational opportunity." The law went into affect on Jan. 1, 2025. At the end of January, PERB ruled in favor of the RTPA, stating the school board did not give the RTPA a chance to bargain before bringing in the gender notification policy. PERB also said the school board initiated bad faith negotiations, as the policy violates state law. On Feb. 27, the Rocklin Unified School District filed a civil lawsuit against PERB. The case was filed in the California Courts of Appeal, Third Appellate District. The case status is open with no dates for a hearing yet.