Santa Clarita Valley students walk out of class to protest parental notification policy

Students in the Santa Clarita Valley walked out of their classrooms to protest an upcoming school board meeting regarding a potential parental notification policy. 

"I'm concerned that if the policy goes into place, the suicide rates will go up, the abuse rates will go up," high school senior Heather Decosier said. 

The policy is also referred to as the "forced outing policy" as this would alert parents if their kids ask to use different pronouns and names at school as well as if they request to use different facilities or participate in activities that do not align with their biological sex. 

"People who say they want to protect kids, maybe they are great parents," Decosier said. "But for other kids, that's not what we have."

Decosier said that when her parents found out she was gay she had to move into her great grandma's home. She hasn't seen her parents since. She doesn't want a parental notification policy because her school staff has been a safe support system for her and her friends. 

"It takes away our ability for having a safe place and we cant't confide in teachers or anybody," said Decosier. 

William S. Hart Union High School District does not currently have a parental notification policy in place but students are concerned that the board meeting will precipitate a change to the guideline. 

Deputy Superintendent Michael Vierra said that the policy has been controversial at the very least with community members supporting the opposing sides of the issue.

Several school districts in California have implemented parental notification policies, including Chino Valley, Temecula Valley and Orange. Hart District's agenda item is solely informational.