Trump’s administration announced a survey on Thursday in the state of California, saying that its new law that protects transsexual students from unwanted revelations to their parents violated the federal law.
The move could strengthen conservative school councils and parent activists in California and across the country, who resisted the efforts of liberal teachers and policy -making responsible to confirm the identities of transsexuals.
California’s law, known as security law, prevents school councils from demanding staff members to inform parents when a student requests to use a different name or pronoun. It was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, Democrat, in July and came into force on 1 January. The law came after more than twelve school councils in conservative areas tried to impose parental alert.
Democratic leaders in the state have criticized the notification requirements as a “forced excursion” that would harm students’ well -being. “The choice of when to ‘come out’ by revealing an LGBTQ+ identity and to whom are deep personal decisions,” the law states, “affecting health and safety, as well as critical relationships, that every LGBTQ+ person has the right to do for himself.”
But Republicans said that the notification was a matter of parental rights. Trump’s administration argued on Thursday that California’s policy contradicts Ferpa or the law on educational rights and privacy, a federal law that allows parents to access their children’s educational records.
“Teachers and school counselors should not be involved in the advice of minors who have been taken care of in the subsequent decisions on their sexual identity and mental health,” said Linda McMahon education secretary in a written statement. “This responsibility and privilege lies in a parent or reliable favorite.”
The law of California does not prohibit talks on gender identity among members of the school staff and parents. However, it prevents schools from adopting policies that require revelation.
The California Democrats, including the State Inspector of Public Teaching, Tony Thurmond, and the Attorney General, Rob Bonta, have overcome the fight against such policies. Alberto Carvalho, the leader of the largest school area in Los Angeles, has also promised to resist Trump’s management efforts to prevent schools from confirming transsexual identities.
In his recent interview with Podcast with Charlie Kirk, Governor Newsom, a conservative leader of youth, defended state law as giving teachers “the freedom not to snitch”. Mr Kirk faced the ruler to sign “a law where school districts cannot tell parents if their children are trans”.
“It’s not true,” Mr Newsom replied. “They can. They just can’t be fired because they don’t do that.”
The exchange, however, came during the same interview in which Mr Newsom struck other democratic leaders saying it was “deeply unfair” to transsexual athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Mr Newsom’s office did not respond immediately on Thursday to the investigation announced by the Trump administration. The commander has withheld criticism of various moves by the administration, as his state is seeking more than $ 40 billion in federal aid to recover from Los Angeles fires.
The leaders of the California Department of Education have questioned Trump’s claim that state law violates federal law. They said that parents can still have access to their child’s files upon request.
“I have heard from so many students and families whose security has been influenced by forced excursion policies,” said Thurmond, Democrat. “For your youth and families LGBTQ+, I want to make sure you hear us as loud as we hear: it sounds, you are protected and you love.”
A few issues in education were more divisive than the requirements of transsexuals, both around kitchen tables and political scene.
The California Security Law is of strong interest in Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and donor Trump, who is leading the government’s efficiency efforts – and has a daughter of transsexuals who are alienated.
Mr Musk called on the law “The Final Straw” to his decision to transfer his central Spacex center from California to Texas.
Several democratic states have passed laws that require parents to be informed when their children are challenging or changing gender identities. The issue is an important priority for the conservative movement of parental rights, which has gained energy during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
For teachers and consultants, the issue is complex. They often seek to balance a student’s nervousness in the approach of parents with the knowledge that family opening and support is vital to the well -being of children and adolescents.
They also seek to protect students from abuse or neglect and concern that in rare cases parents’ reactions to gender identity disclosure could cause a threat.
Professional guidelines from the American School Counseling Association emphasize the importance of family commitment when consultants work with students LGBTQ. They also state that consultants should confirm that students’ identities choose gender identities, names and pronouns, and even in cases where parents may ignore.
Chris Ward, a democratic colleague who wrote the California law, said he was sure he would hold legal control.
“Demanding government school officials to expose students without their consent to run from the US Constitution,” he said on Thursday. “We believe it is morally invasive and opposed to overwhelming mental health elements on the subject.”
Federal research of the country’s largest public system in the country’s most famous liberal state represents a bold move by the Department of Education, an organization that President Trump has vowed to close.
The previous attempts were much smaller in the scope. For example, the administration has begun research on Denver’s public schools, to convert a toilet for girls into a sex.
Mr Trump has also signed an executive mandate that threatens to withhold federal funds from schools that recognize transsexual identities. But his ability to do so is limited by the fact that Congress controls most federal funding in K-12 schools. These federal funds represent only 10 % of school budgets at national level.
