After four grueling hours of acerbic public comment and discussion by the Orange Unified board members, the school district became the latest in California to adopt what’s called a parental notification policy.
The policy requires a certificated staff member or principal to inform parents if their child — who is under the age of 12 — requests to use different names or pronouns or asks to change sex-segregated programs like athletic teams or changing facilities that differ from the student’s “assigned biological sex at birth.”
Related: Orange Unified approves transgender parental notification policy
If the student is over 12 years old, it is up to the discretion of a school counselor or psychologist to decide if they think it is appropriate to report the information safely to the family.
In addition to the clauses regarding sexual identity and expression, the policy states that if a child is showing signs of self-harm, suicidal thoughts and actions or has experienced any significant injury, families will immediately be notified by the school.
Per the policy, the family will be notified by writing as soon as reasonably possible and will have five days to respond.
“This decision was prompted by our commitment to being sensitive to the diverse circumstances of our students’ families,” said Trustee Madison Miner. “We recognize that some parents are juggling demanding work schedules, while others may be challenging to reach due to various reasons. By allowing a few extra days for contact, we aim to accommodate these situations and ensure that parents are informed and engaged in their child’s education.”
The Orange Unified Education Association, however, said the policy is “unnecessary, divisive and evidence of management malfeasance.”
The policy, said OUEA President Greg Goodlander, “does nothing to improve instruction or learning in our classrooms, is a political distraction, fiscally irresponsible and fails to empower parents.”
“OUEA strongly urges the OUSD Board to focus attention, resources and support to student learning, hiring and retaining excellent staff, and improving relationships among the community and within our own schools,” said Goodlander. “This recent action is a huge disappointment and setback for our school district.”
The policy’s language was changed from the original debate that took place during the Aug. 17 board meeting — and it appears those changes were made with little notice to some trustees and members of the public.
Although similar in concept, the first version of the policy did not include an age component and didn’t explicitly involve a school counselor or psychologist in the process for children over 12.
Trustee Angie Rumsey said the language was changed at her request and in collaboration with the district attorney.
“These policy adjustments were implemented to foster a more inclusive, efficient and legally compliant educational environment,” said Miner. “We remain committed to continuous improvement and look forward to the positive impact these changes will have on our school community.”
OUSD, said Miner, has “reevaluated the allocation of responsibilities within our institution” and “entrusted the task of parent communication to our administrators.”
The policy was approved at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday night, Sept. 7, in a 4-0 vote — with the three dissenting members absent from the room.
About an hour earlier, a speaker holding a large American flag alleged those who were opposed to the policy were “aligned with antifa,” referring to far-left extremist groups.
The speaker was interrupted by another person in the audience, who stood and shouted through a megaphone, causing a ruckus. That demonstrator was escorted out by security, but not before all of the trustees and Superintendent Ernie Gonzalez left the room.
When the meeting resumed, Trustees Kris Erickson, Ana Page and Andrea Yamasaki were absent and did not return for the rest of the meeting, including the vote and other business.
Board President Rick Ledesma and Trustees John Ortega, Miner and Rumsey were left to vote on the policy, and all were in agreement.
This incident wasn’t the only time the meeting was disrupted due to audience disturbances. Ledesma repeatedly asked patrons to quiet down and be civil.
Yamasaki said on Thursday night that she left in the middle of the meeting because of “direct threats … made to trustees in the minority and the crowd was getting increasingly aggressive.”
The trio on Friday issued a joint statement, alleging the board received reports that the security team could not control physical fights between groups outside the boardroom and, at one point, were advised to shut the meeting down.
“President Ledesma failed to follow board protocol to stop the meeting and escort the board to a safe room. His lack of leadership or concern for us as his colleagues is appalling,” they said.
“By bringing culture wars into Orange Unified, the Ledesma majority has invited the most radical elements into our district, our home. We can only imagine how difficult it is for our LGBTQ youth to exist in this toxic and hateful environment where politicians are exploiting their very existence to score political points.”
Ledesma did not respond to requests for comment.
Miner, however, criticized their decision to leave the meeting early.
“When we took our oath of office, we solemnly swore to protect and defend the Constitution of our country, which encompasses the well-being of its people,” said Miner. “Regrettably, they not only failed in upholding their oath of office, but they also failed the United States of America by prioritizing personal interests over the needs of the students, staff, and parents they were entrusted to serve.”
OUSD is one of several districts that recently enacted or considered similar parental notification policies, joining Murrieta Valley Unified, Chino Valley Unified, Temecula Valley Unified and Rocklin Unified.
Recently, Chino Valley was sued by Attorney General Rob Bonta for its parental notification policy. Bonta said the policy does not promote “safety, privacy and inclusivity.”
On Sept. 6, a judge from the San Bernardino Superior Court approved a temporary injunction that would immediately stop the policy.
Under Chino Valley’s policy, schools must inform parents if a student wants to use a different name or pronoun, bathroom or identify as a different gender. Unlike Orange Unified, Chino Valley’s policy does not mention any components of age or a specific timeframe.
At the beginning of Thursday’s meeting in Orange, Erickson expressed concerns about the lawsuit, saying she did not want OUSD to be “roped into the mess.”
“Of course, we would want to avoid any and all litigation”, said Miner.
