Chino Valley school board approves policy to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender

CHINO, Calif. (KABC) -- The Chino Valley Unified School District board voted Thursday during a heated meeting in favor of a controversial policy that requires schools to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender.

Under the policy, schools must inform parents if a student wants to use a name or pronoun different from what's on their birth certificate or official records.

Parents would also be notified if their child wants to use a different bathroom.

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond spoke at the contentious meeting and was escorted out by security after a brief exchange with school board president Sonja Shaw.

Shaw suddenly ordered Thurmond to leave the meeting when he attempted to respond to her criticism.

Thurmond said he attended to stand up for LGBTQ+ students who invited him to join them "as they spoke out against a radical new policy that threatens their safety."

"I don't mind being thrown out of a board meeting by extremists. I can take the heat - it's part of the job," Thurmond wrote in a series of tweets. "What I can't accept is the mistreatment of vulnerable students whose privacy is being taken away.

"I ask - if I am forcibly removed from a public school board meeting as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, how are everyday parents and students in Chino Valley Unified supposed to have their voices heard?"

Dozens of parents, activists and community members voiced support and opposition to the controversial policy.

Critics of the policy say it will have a devastating impact on LGBTQ+ students.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement Thursday evening urging the school district to protect students' privacy.

"By allowing for the disclosure of a student's gender identity without their consent, Chino Valley Unified School District's suggested Parental Notification policy would strip them of their freedom, violate their autonomy, and potentially put them in a harmful situation," Bonta's statement said.

The board voted to approve the policy 4-1 after several hours of comment.