The Chino Valley school board will vote on a new “no deception” policy for school employees that requires full transparency when communicating with parents. But some are calling the proposal another move against LGBTQ+ and transgender students and a workaround to a court decision stopping parts of the district’s earlier rule to notify parents if a student is transgender. The board approved that rule more than a year ago, but later adjusted it to remove references to gender. The new proposal, discussed by the board last week, would require Chino Valley Unified School District teachers and staff to be completely “forthcoming” when they speak to parents about the health, safety and education of their child. The policy states that the district and its employees “shall at all times be truthful and honest and not misrepresent, either directly or by omission, to any parent or guardian any school-related undertakings and information that affects their child’s education and well-being.” It’s not known when the board might vote. The proposal is another point of contention in the district, which was the Inland Empire’s first to adopt a parent notification policy. Kristi Hirst, co-founder of Our Schools USA, a Chino-based nonprofit group, said the board’s action have created a chain reaction that led to the recent assault of an LGBTQ+ student by a classmate at Ayala High School in Chino Hills. But to school board President Sonja Shaw, who proposed the new policy, it’s merely a way to reinforce the trust between schools and families. “It’s disgusting that union activists are already up in arms about this, demanding specifics on what they can and cannot lie about,” Shaw wrote in a Friday, Sept. 27, text message. “Parents have the fundamental right to know what’s going on in their children’s lives, especially when it impacts their well-being. We will no longer tolerate policies that undermine parental authority and erode trust.” Hirst countered that the policy is the district’s reaction to a judge’s September ruling that parts of its parent notification policy are discriminatory. “I cannot imagine how they will implement this policy and have it not be total chaos, because it leaves it open to anything that should be reported to parents,” said Hirst, a former Chino Valley teacher. “… It leaves teachers open to having to report every single thing that happens constantly. I don’t even know how teachers would keep up with that.” A Sept. 10 ruling from San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs upholds his preliminary decision in October 2023. In last fall’s ruling, Sachs ruled that the first two parts of Chino Valley’s original parent notification policy were discriminatory. He concluded that the third part — which requires notification if a student changes their record — is constitutional. Emily Rae, senior counsel for the Liberty Justice Center, which represents the district, said by phone Friday that the judge was relying on the district’s intent as stated in the policy, which was gender neutral. The center, a Texas-based law firm that focuses on First Amendment violations, took the district’s case in 2023.  “Section 1c of the old parental notification policy means if a student makes a request that requires changing that student’s official or unofficial records, which would include asking to change their name or joining the sports team of a different gender, then that records change will require parental notifications,” Rae said. “The court held that portion of the policy was constitutional.” In October 2023, Sachs granted a preliminary order requested by state Attorney General Rob Bonta, preventing the district from implementing portions of its policy. He ruled that the first two provisions were discriminatory based on sex and violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause and that part of the original policy was “neutral facing,” because it affects all students, not just those seeking gender-affirming accommodations. In response to Sachs’ tentative ruling, the board revised its parental notification policy in March. The Chino Valley school board updated the policy so the district would notify parents any time students make changes to their official or unofficial records. Previously, the policy required notification only in certain cases, such as when students changed their names or pronouns on school records. In July, the district sued the state seeking to stop AB 1955, a state law prohibiting school parent notification policies. Chino Valley argued that the law violates the First and 14th amendments as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The lawsuit came a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law. “Parents have the right to know when any official or unofficial changes occur in their child’s life at school,” Shaw said. “Our current notification policy reflects this, ensuring that families are kept in the loop on critical issues. This includes updates on any changes that could impact a child’s well-being, safeguarding parental involvement in their education and development.” The “no-deception” policy came up for a second round of discussion at the Thursday Sept. 19, board meeting, which was tense at times. Three speakers — including Hirst — had the microphone cut off by Shaw, who said they were not speaking to the specific language of the proposed policy. The three “attempted to address legal matters that were already addressed in closed session relative to the court case(s),” Shaw said in the text message. Chino Valley Superintendent Norm Enfield said that, when a policy is on the agenda as an information item, district policy states that anyone speaking about the item must speak to the language of the policy. “For example, a speaker may address the Board and state, “Paragraph five on page B of the policy is redundant as paragraph two on page A already addresses…”. Or, “In paragraph three, sentence two, the term they is ambiguous. Can the language be changed to specifically state what is included in they?” Enfield wrote in an email Friday.  He said the speakers’ comments addressed broader subjects and should have come during the meeting’s public comment section for speakers to discuss any issue. Hirst, who finished her statement to the board criticizing the proposed policy, said she was upset when the microphone was cut off on teacher Natalie Cooney. Cooney, she said, was addressing the policy by talking about its language and its intent. “She absolutely was talking about that policy, and she was talking about the language being so broad,” Hirst said. “There’s no definition of what it encompasses, because that’s not included in the policy, which is another concern, but the teacher was tying it directly to that.” Shaw said that she, Enfield and the board secretary tried to explain the board’s policy on information items several times before turning off the mic and having Cooney removed. “Their defiant and disruptive behavior incited other members of the public to create chaos, which is not conducive to running an orderly meeting,” Shaw said. Hirst alleged that the board’s actions have sent a message that it’s acceptable to bully LGBTQ+ students, which she said led to the assault of a senior at Ayala High. “There is a culture issue here, and it’s coming from the top and these board members and it has allowed room for hate and bullying to thrive,” Hirst said. A senior and member of the Gay Straight Alliance Club was assaulted Friday, Sept. 13, by another student during a lunchtime recruiting event for clubs, she said. The student suffered a back injury and was taken to the hospital by a parent, said Hirst, who citing privacy declined to name the student and family. “The board’s intentions have created an environment in which it’s not safe or welcoming for LGBTQ+ students,” she said. Related links Chino Valley board denies it broke open-meeting law with suit over transgender law Chino Valley schools’ lawsuit over transgender law broke open-meeting law, activist alleges Chino Valley schools sue to stop new law banning school transgender notification rules Judge temporarily blocks Chino Valley school board’s transgender notification policy Chino Valley Unified’s parent notification policy targeted by California attorney general Chino Valley school board says teachers must out transgender students to parents Gloria Huerta, a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, could not provide information on the case by Friday evening. Other board votes have drawn the ire of advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. In June 2023, the board passed a policy banning flags, other than the United States flag, from classrooms. The ban included pride flags, which Hirst said left students in that community feeling singled out by the district. The month after the flag ban, the board passed the parent notification policy, which required schools to give information to parents within three days if their child identified as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. “They’re (the board) setting the tone that it is OK to bully these kids because they are doing it themselves,” Hirst said. “And so, in fact, you see that trickle down to these school campuses, and so it’s painting this larger picture of the fact that they cannot leave these kids alone.”