Elk Grove Unified gives parents opt-in option for school clubs after LGBTQ club controversy
ELK GROVE — The Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) is responding to pushback it received over the LGBTQ club that created controversy on an elementary school campus last spring.
EGUSD now requires T-K through 6th-grade parents to sign a permission slip before their kid can join a club on campus.
"I was thrilled," said Pamela, a parent at Pleasant Grove Elementary School. "I feel like us parents were heard."
Many parents like Pamela said the issue was not over the topic of the club, but the lack of transparency.
The cease-and-desist letter that was sent to EGUSD in March 2024 gave the district two options: stop the LGBTQ clubs at elementary schools altogether or create an "opt-in" policy.
It comes after some elementary school parents felt blindsided after learning a third grade teacher created an LGBTQ club on campus, known as "UBU," pronounced "you be you."
"It was a secret," said Brittani Cortina, another parent at Pleasant Grove. "It wasn't about what the club was supposed to be about. It was simply that our children were told to lie to us."
CBS13 asked EGUSD Board of Education Trustee Michael Vargas if he could confirm or deny that a staff member told students to not tell their parents about the UBU club.
"We have no information that the staff member told parents that," Vargas said. "There was an investigation and they found no evidence of that."
All new clubs were paused until the policy passes, including the UBU club.
"We recognize it was a surprise to some parents, so this policy change, so there is greater transparency at all of these schools, is our answer to that," Vargas said.
Founder of the National Center of Law and Policy Dean Broyles, who helped draft the cease-and-desist letter to EGUSD, said school staff should similarly be notifying parents if a student is transitioning their gender identity. It is a policy some other school districts are now battling the state over.
"I know for a fact that there are parents who are concerned about their beliefs and values being undermined in the school," said Broyles.
Vargas said EGUSD is following the state's stance on this one.
"We don't think it's our job to out students to their parents," he said. "It's the student's job to have those conversations and it's our job to help the student feel safe like they can have those conversations."
Vargas said the district is prioritizing transparency with parents, regardless of the topic, when it comes to what club a kid can join.
"There's clear communication now, and I feel like the trust can be built back," Pamela said.
The new policy requires club descriptions to be posted online. Vargas said parents are open to going to the principal to find out more details on them.
The school board will vote whether to adopt this club policy change at its next meeting on September 17.
