On Monday, August 22, the California Family Council rallied on the steps of the state Capitol and, along with parents, pastors, and attorneys, joined in solidarity with Chino Valley Unified School District Board President Sonja Shaw. This is part of an ongoing battle not only waged in Chino Valley Unified School District but in other districts like Temecula Valley Unified School District over whether parents have a say in their children's education—whether that be the books they are exposed to or parents being informed about their child's so-called "gender transition." 

California Governor Gavin Newsom, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and Attorney General Rob Bonta have been in lockstep, opposing parents' rights to remove or refuse curriculum they deem unfit and refusing to allow parents authority over what is being done to their child, even regarding being informed if a child is asking to be referred to as a different gender or asks for puberty blockers.

Today, Bonta doubled down on their promises to make school districts pay for their refusal to accept the state's agenda for children. 

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday against the Chino school district, ordering an end to a policy that requires notifying parents if their children change their gender identity, alleging it is discriminatory and violates civil rights and privacy laws.

The “parental notification” policy, which has been proposed by a handful of conservative-leaning districts in California, puts transgender and gender-nonconforming students in “danger of imminent, irreparable harm” by potentially forcibly “outing” them at home before they’re ready, according to the lawsuit.

“They are in real fear that the district’s policy will force them to make a choice: either ‘walk back’ their constitutionally and statutorily protected rights to gender identity and gender expression, or face the risk of emotional, physical and psychological harm from non-affirming or unaccepting parents or guardians,” states the lawsuit, which asks the San Bernardino County Superior Court to immediately ban the practice.

The state is treating this as though these children are CIA operatives and that their covers will be blown if parents are informed about how they are being instructed. What is being blown is the agenda California continues to employ to stamp out parental rights: You have no say in what we wish to do to your children, and to assume otherwise can be dangerous to your health as well as your pocketbook.

Attention California Attorney General Bonta: your lawsuit is full of holes. Chino valley school district is w/in its legal right to keep parents informed. Parents are in w/in their legal right to know.
See: #SCOTUS discussions on parents' rights/14th A.https://t.co/3v0PG1nLun

— Sarah Parshall Perry (@SarahPPerry) August 28, 2023

Much of the homegrown team in the state media wishes to see this as a culture war debate rather than that fundamental freedoms and parental authority continue to be undermined by this governor and his administration.

The state’s suit against Chino Valley Unified escalates culture war debates playing out on some school boards in red pockets of deep blue California and puts districts that have proposed similar policies, including Murrieta Valley Unified and Orange Unified, on alert.

And, of course, the LGBTQ-anointed State Senator Scott Weiner has cheered on Bonta's move...because choosing your gender is nobody's business—especially one's parents.

Forcing a teacher to out a trans kid to their parents — even if the kid isn’t ready & even if it puts them at risk of harm — is dangerous & frankly, despicable.

Each of us decides when we come out. It’s no one else’s damn business.

Thx @AGRobBonta for having these kids’ backs. https://t.co/eeAZL78yga

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) August 28, 2023

Parents in Chino Valley and many parts of the state would beg to differ. In the CVUSD board meeting where the vote on the measure was cast, only one member voted against it, and the room erupted in cheers over the measure's passing.

JUST IN — California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Chino Valley Unified School District for requiring schools to notify parents if their children change their gender.

Parents erupted in cheers when the Chino Valley School Board voted 4 to 1 last month to… pic.twitter.com/nAE8vevx3N

— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) August 28, 2023

A spokesperson for Chino Valley Unified said that the district has been working with the state Department of Justice and has offered “complete transparency” in its investigation of the policy.

“At this time, the district is working with its legal counsel to review the lawsuit and its contents,” district spokesperson Andi Johnston said in an email, adding that the district was not notified of the lawsuit prior to media reports on Monday.

No surprise there, as Newsom and Co. love to do things in secret and punish their enemies openly. Riverside County Assemblyman Bill Essayli also weighed in on Bonta's overreach.

Today the California Attorney General officially declared war on parents. pic.twitter.com/aXHY8v0Ygs

— Bill Essayli (@billessayli) August 28, 2023

"Today the California Attorney General officially declared war on every parent in the state of California. The fact that he is spending taxpayer resources on suing school districts for providing information to parents is remarkable and inconsistent with a century of Supreme Court precedent holding that parents have a constitutional right to raise their children without government interference.

"He will lose in both the court of law and public opinion. I implore the Attorney General to instead focus on tackling the massive crime wave California is experiencing."

One would think that there are larger concerns that should be occupying the executive branch of California other than destroying the freedom of parents and the lives of children. The rampant crime Essayli mentioned on the one hand and the looming lawsuits on California's school closures and remote learning irreparably harming children on the other. Despite the state media's cheerleading of their agenda, the court of public opinion remains strongly pro-parent. Last Tuesday, parents in Los Angeles clashed with LGBTQ protestors over what appears to the parents to be an agenda by the Los Angeles Unified School District to groom their children. Despite the pushback by counter-protestors, these parents made their displeasure known.

As my colleague Bob Hoge reported:

Dueling protests broke out Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday as parental rights activists took to the streets while, at the same time, a group in support of LGBTQ youth gathered in Gloria Molina Grand Park. The LAPD came out in force and tried to keep the groups separated; at least two people were taken into custody. 

Passions ran high.

[...]

Parents wearing T-Shirts declaring “Leave Our Kids Alone" protested the government’s increasingly aggressive role in promoting LGBTQ ideology in the classroom and objected to what was referred to as the "indoctrination," "sexualization," and "grooming" of children in schools.

Yet, Bonta and Newsom are refusing to read the room or their track record of losing against the United States Constitution. Between the pandemic lawsuits where the state has had to pay out millions, to the lawsuits to dismantle AB5 and keep Prop 22 in place, one would think Newsom would realize that this ideological lawfare is doing nothing but draining the state coffers dry and ruining his presidential ambitions. Bonta also has delusions of running for governor once Newsom has moved on to what he assumes will be greener pastures. If they continue to push their anti-family, anti-parent agenda, their ambitions will be fodder for the dunghill.