Chino Valley school district votes in favor of controversial gender identification policy

Chino Valley Unified School District members voted on a highly controversial policy regarding gender identification on Thursday, all in the midst of an extremely heated meeting involving hundreds of parents.

Board members voted 4-1 in favor of the policy, which would require school officials to notify parents if their children identifies as transgender. 

A contentious, back-and-forth meeting saw parents, teachers and even California government officials speak during public comment, which was frequently met with jeers, clapping or shouting from throughout the crowd.

"Our teachers want to focus on education, which is more than I can say for this board majority, which is clearly more focused on pushing their political and religious agenda," said one teacher. 

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond also offered his thoughts, which was met with criticism from CVUSD Board President Sonja Shaw.

"I support parent rights, but I also support the safety out our students," Thurmond said at the meeting. 

Shaw, who claimed that "we're here because of people like you," then called for Thurmond to be escorted from the meeting. 

After the meeting, Thurmond doubled down on his opposition, "What I saw here tonight was just catering to a mob mentality that has disregard for the safety of many of our students who are vulnerable and at risk."

Related: Gov. Newsom fines Temecula Valley school board $1.5 for rejecting new curriculum

On the other side, parents offered their support for the board member's efforts. 

"You are causing a ripple effect, and you should be proud of what you're doing," said one parent. 

Kristi Hirst, who co-founded Our Schools USA, a non-profit that fights for equality in education, says that the policy is just a divisive, fear-mongering tactic. 

"Teachers do not have nefarious intentions to keep secrets," Hirst said, while speaking with KCAL News. "Nobody is doing that."

California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement on the decision, which said in part:

"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."

The bill, introduced by Republican state Assemblyman Bill Essayli, first came about back in April, when board members announced their support of the bill, which also applies if a student changes their pronouns, asks to be called a name different than the one in school records or asks to use a different bathroom. 

At that time, board members also voted 4-1 in favor of adopting the policy, much to the ire of many students and parents and support of many others, but left the final decision to a later date.

Essayli brought the policy to CVUSD Board President Sonja Shaw after it was quashed by the California State Legislature, at the time saying that "schools should not withhold information from parents ... in any context."

The ultimate decision was delayed at a meeting in June, where so many parents gathered that many had to watch the ongoings from their phones outside of the building. At that meeting, however, board members opted to ban Pride flags.