Murrieta Valley School District votes to 'out' transgender students to parents
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. - The Murrieta Valley Unified School District approved a policy to allow the school to notify parents of transgender students. The policy was approved in a meeting on Thursday night that lasted over five hours. It is the second Southern California school district to adopt this type of policy.
The Murrieta Valley Unified School District shared the following statement:
We remain committed to our primary purpose of providing a safe educational environment for all students, free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. As such, we are dedicated to family engagement, strengthening relationships between students, their support systems, and our staff.
On Thursday, the district's school board met in front of parents and students to discuss the proposed policy. On one hand, a dad argued that it is the parents who are in charge of signing up their kids to schools, sports and other after-school activities so they should have the right to know what their child does.
"The number-one tool that mental health professionals recommend to prevent suicide in teenagers is parental involvement," said one person who spoke in favor the proposed policy at the meeting.
On another hand, another parent argued the proposed policy would risk the students' safety from their families.
The school's policy is similar Chino Valley's, where the school would notify parents that their children are using a pronoun different from their birth certificate.
The tense meeting came as the Chino Valley Unified School District's board voted 4-1 to essentially require transgender students to come out to their parents.
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