Because of the persistent overreach of California's legislature in infringing on the rights of parents, as well as the pushback by California school district boards to approve parental notification measures when a minor child seeks a gender transition, an organization called Protect Kids CA has decided a statewide law to protect children and parents needs to be enacted. 

At an August 28 rally at the State Capitol, Protect Kids CA introduced a statewide ballot initiative with three prongs: Require parent notification from the school if their child is making a gender transition, protect girls in sports, and stop minors from undergoing any method of sterilization, including puberty blockers and surgery.  

A parental notification policy is expanding across the state. More school boards are requiring staff to notify parents if their child asks to be identified by a different gender or name.

Now, one group is pushing to get a statewide version of this – and two other initiatives involving transgender youth – on the Nov. 2024 ballot.

A group of parents with a group called Protect Kids California rallied at the Capitol Monday, around a heated issue involving transgender youth and more parental control in schools.

"What we actually are is a collection of parents and young adults who are advocating for parents' rights and protecting kids from dangerous and unproven policies and ideology,” said Students First California board member Jay Reed.

Students First California formed the committee Protect Kids California, which is behind three statewide initiatives involving transgender youth. Those initiatives were submitted Monday to the Attorney General’s Office. The AG has 60 days to issue a title and summary for each of the initiatives, and then Protect Kids California has six months to gather 546,651 certified signatures from registered California voters for each initiatives. If they do, that qualifies the initiative(s) for the Nov. 2024 ballot.

One Initiative – called the School Transparency and Partnership Act - would require schools to alert parents when a student asks the school to treat them as transgender.

The second initiative – the Protect Girls’ Sports and Spaces Act - would ban transgender girls who were assigned a 'male' sex at birth from competing in girls sports.

The third – Protect Children from Reproductive Harm Act - would prohibit the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and genital surgeries for minors in all of California.

Since that unveiling, Protect Kids CA and other policy and parents' rights organizations have continued to rally and work to increase awareness of the initiative.

We at the @CalPolicyCenter are working with dedicated parent advocates across the state to put on a rally in Simi Valley across the street from the Reagan Library, next Tuesday, Sept 26th from 5-7pm.
The nation will be watching the presidential debate the next night & we want to… pic.twitter.com/LyO1nbuBZx

— Lance Christensen (@lancelands) September 19, 2023

We at the @CalPolicyCenter are working with dedicated parent advocates across the state to put on a rally in Simi Valley across the street from the Reagan Library, next Tuesday, Sept 26th from 5-7pm. The nation will be watching the presidential debate the next night & we want to set the stage for a needed discussion on parental rights in America as California moms & dads show great courage & resolve in this battle for our children. Our @ParentUnionCPC has been leading the charge for years.

With the 2024 election looming large, this most certainly is a bellwether. Some state governments are paying attention; others continue to double down on their attempts to push an agenda that is anti-parent and anti-child. California is a state of over 39 million people, and the government has created a myriad of hoops to the initiative process. But on Monday, Protect Kids CA mounted a major hurdle: The state has approved the signature-gathering process in order to get the initiative on the 2024 ballot. 

California voters can now sign our petition to:

✅ Stop schools from keeping secrets
✅ Protect girls’ sports and spaces
✅ End child sterilization and mutilation

Visit https://t.co/21Fof3YMXG to learn more and to print and sign the petition. pic.twitter.com/h7xXQV0sTK

— Protect Kids CA (@ProtectKidsCA) December 5, 2023

Despite the misleading title and summary, Protect Kids California may now begin collecting signatures to place the initiative on the 2024 ballot.

On November 29, 2023, the California Attorney General gave title and summary to the Protect Kids of California Act of 2024 allowing proponents to begin collecting signatures to place the initiative on the ballot for the November 2024 election.

This is a major win. However, the state government loves to throw a monkey wrench into the works, especially on initiatives that it does not like. The history of the Gavin Newsom Recall comes to mind, as well as the current move before the California Supreme Court to strip a voter-led initiative to rein in California's rampant taxation from the 2024 ballot. This is no different. 

Look at the revised language Attorney General Rob Bonta decided to give to the initiative versus the desired petition language.

OFFICIAL TITLE AND SUMMARY (SAME AS ON PETITION) 

The Attorney General of California has prepared the following circulating title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure:  

(23-0027A2) RESTRICTS RIGHTS OF TRANSGENDER YOUTH. INITIATIVE STATUTE. 

• Requires public and private schools and colleges to: restrict gender-segregated facilities like bathrooms to persons assigned that gender at birth; prohibit transgender female students (grades 7+) from participating in female sports. Repeals law allowing students to participate in activities and use facilities consistent with their gender identity. 
• Requires schools to notify parents whenever a student under 18 asks to be treated as a gender differing from school records without exception for student safety. 
• Prohibits gender-affirming health care for transgender patients under 18, even if parents consent or treatment is medically recommended. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Potentially minor savings in state and local health care costs of up to millions of dollars annually from no longer paying for prohibited services for individuals under the age of 18. These savings could be affected by many other impacts, such as individuals seeking treatment later in life. Minor administrative and workload costs to schools, colleges, and universities, up to several millions of dollars initially. Potential, but unknown, cost pressures to state and local governments related to federal fiscal penalties if the measure results in federally funded schools, colleges, universities, or health care providers being deemed out of compliance with federal law.

Bias much? Notice the changes in the language from "require," "protect," and "stop" to "prohibit" and "restrict." AG Bonta deliberately changed the title and summary of the initiative to make it appear as though the measures will restrict the freedom and rights of so-called trans youth instead of strengthening parents' ability to protect children from unapproved sterilization and procedures, protecting the right of girls to participate in sports with only their own biological sex participating, and guaranteeing that schools are not practicing dual policies that allow secrets to be kept from parents. 

It also confuses voters. Should Protect Kids CA succeed in getting this initiative on the ballot, the AG's language will stick; so unless someone is paying close attention, they may not know what measure to vote for, let alone what they are voting for. As you may recall, this is the same Attorney General Bonta who is suing Chino Valley Unified School District and targeting other districts like Temecula Valley, Murrieta, and Orange County for instituting parental notification policies. Bonta continues to do Governor Gavin Newsom's bidding under the guise of following the law. 

The lessons of Virginia in the 2022 election, where businessman Glenn Youngkin trounced former VA governor Terry McAuliffe and sailed to victory as the state's governor because he stood with parents, should be a cautionary tale to any politician who wishes to stay in office or gain higher office: When it comes to protecting parents' rights and protecting children's lives, they need to lead, follow, or expect to be shoved out of the way. 

To Bonta's sleight of hand, Protect Kids CA's Jonathan Zachreson had this to say: 

While we’re happy to now be able to collect signatures, we find the Attorney General’s Title & Summary for our proposed initiative laughable, although predictable. Not only is the Attorney General showing his bias, but he’s also factually inaccurate. Our mission is to protect kids all across the state. It’s pretty simple.

Despite Bonta's chicanery, Zachreson says the volunteers and supporters of the initiative are excited to be at this moment. They are already employing an “all of the above” strategy to gather signatures. 

Our petition is downloadable and voters can print and sign from home. We will use volunteers, text campaigns, direct mail, and possibly even paid signatures gathers. Getting the initiative on the ballot will take a lot of effort, but we’re trying to make it as easy as possible for those who support it by having the petition available on our website. 

According to Zachreson, if it makes it to the 2024 ballot, the chances are strong that it will be voted in. Approximately two-thirds of California voters support these issues, as do a majority of Americans. Parental rights are on the ballot, whether elected leaders recognize it or not.

If you are a California resident, you can download and sign the petition here.