ROCKLIN, Calif. — The Rocklin Unified School District is continuing its fight against the state of California on its gender notification policy.
On Wednesday night, the Board of Trustees approved allowing a law firm to represent them in a lawsuit on a policy the state said violates anti-discrimination law and sued the district over.
However, some parents said the focus needs to be shifted.
It has been eight months since school leaders approved the gender notification policy, and soon the fight in court could heat up.
The Rocklin Unified school board meeting took another step toward defending its controversial parental gender notification policy. The policy would require teachers to notify parents when a student asks to be identified as a different gender.
This time, the school board approved a law firm, Liberty Justice Center, to represent them after the district said the California Department of Education sued them for approving the policy.
“It is important that parents are involved in and how federal does make clear that parents have the right to direct the upbringing and the education of their children. It is critical that they are allowed to be a part of conversation,” said Tiffany Saathoff, president of the school board.
Board member Michelle Sutherland and some parents are against hiring the law firm and are against the policy, saying it will hurt trans children.
“We don’t need to drag our community through this again,” said Sutherland.
The agreement highlights Liberty for Justice offering its service mostly for free, but the agreement said the district could be on the hook if the state wins and is awarded damages or seeks its attorney fees and litigation fees be paid.
Parents like Jessie Nibley said the policy is unnecessary and the district should just drop it.
“It's a circus, and it's designed to be that way. It feels like they want attention for these issues that really don't matter,” said Nibley.
Liberty Justice Center is also representing Chino Valley Unified School District in its fight against the state on its similar parental gender notification policy.
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