(Bloomberg) -- California became the first US state to ban school districts from requiring teachers to notify parents about changes to a student’s sexual orientation and gender identity.
Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed the law, AB 1955, following a contentious and emotional debate in the Democratic-controlled state legislature. The measure forbids school staff from having to inform parents or any other person if their child’s gender identification changes, without the child’s permission. It also bars districts from punishing employees who support a student’s rights.
The legislation was introduced after some conservative California school districts implemented rules that require teachers to inform parents if their child identifies as transgender or goes by a different name or pronoun at school. It comes amid a nationwide debate over the rights of parents and LGBTQ students.
Advocates argue that the school board policies adopted by those California districts forcibly “out” LGBTQ students and adversely affect their mental health. The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus called the legislation “life-saving.”
Nationwide, fewer than half of transgender and non-binary students find their homes LGBTQ-affirming, according to a survey by Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ non-profit focused on suicide prevention and mental health. The report also found that schools that are more gender-affirming correlate with lower rates of attempted suicide.
Opponents of the law criticized it for being a “secrecy policy” that infringes on a parent’s relationship with their child and promotes “radical gender ideology.”
“By signing the bill, Governor Newsom is transferring power away from our local communities and centralizing it in Sacramento,” said Harmeet Dhillon, chief executive officer of the Center for American Liberty.
Billionaire Elon Musk announced on social media Tuesday that he plans to move the headquarters of his companies, X and SpaceX, from California to Texas, citing the new trans student privacy law as “the final straw.” “I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children,” Musk said in a post on X.
Ash Orr, a spokesperson at nonprofit Advocates for Trans Equality lauded Newsom’s support of the law, noting that opposition, such as that expressed by Musk, often accompanies significant change. “With progress, there will always come backlash,” said Orr. “It is powerful to see state governments across the country stepping up to protect those who are marginalized.”
Newsom, a Democrat who is considered a potential future presidential candidate, has backed several measures to bolster protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. Among these is a mandate, approved last year, requiring all private and public schools serving students from grades 1 through 12 to have at least one all-gender restroom by 2026.
Since 2020, at least eight states including Idaho, Tennessee and North Carolina have passed laws mandating that school staff inform parents about transgender students. Five states, including Florida, Arizona and Montana, encourage but don’t require it.
--With assistance from Ella Ceron.
(Updates with Elon Musk comments from 8th paragraph.)
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