FORCING THE ISSUE: Last summer, an eleventh-hour effort by California’s LGBTQ lawmakers to stop so-called “forced outing” policies at local school boards fizzled without any legislation actually being introduced.
Now the caucus is trying again, wagering the white-hot ferocity around the issue has cooled to a more manageable temperature. The Assembly bill from San Diego Democrat Chris Ward, which he unveiled today, would prohibit any local policy that requires teachers and school staff to notify a student’s parents about their sexuality or gender identity without the student’s consent. “We should not have anybody have their status or their identity retold to somebody else against their will,” Ward told Playbook. “These are principles that Californians overwhelmingly understand.” Proponents of the bill stress that this is not just an issue pertaining to transgender kids, but all students who may be grappling with their sexuality or gender expression. Still, issues pertaining to transgender rights — particularly trans youth — have been especially fraught in recent years. The last time the caucus was gearing up to introduce such a bill, the debate over parental notification was at a full-stage frenzy. Schools chief Tony Thurmond was forcibly removed from a Chino Valley school board meeting for speaking out against their policy. Attorney General Rob Bonta took the same district to court to block such rules from being enacted. “If we would have done this hearing last fall, it would have been a shitshow of everybody coming in to say horrible, horrible things about our trans kids,” said state Sen. Susan Eggman, the chair of the LGBTQ caucus. “That's what it turns into — which is not good for anybody's mental health.” Today, Ward’s bill was panned by a familiar chorus of detractors, including GOP Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who fired off a tweet calling the campaign against forced outings a “false narrative manufactured to prey on people’s emotions,” and, in another, declared simply: “Game on.” This particular culture war, though, seems to have dulled a bit in recent months as conservative media turns its focus to unrest on college campuses. An initiative that would require parents to be notified if their child changes their gender identity — among other restrictions for trans youth — is unlikely to qualify for the fall ballot. Two conservative school board members in Orange County were recalled and a similar effort to oust a board member in Temecula will be voted on next month. Chino Valley, the school district that sparked the “forced outing” fury, rescinded its policy, though Bonta has continued his lawsuit in hopes the court will definitively rule that such policies violate student privacy. Bonta and Thurmond are both on board with Ward’s bill, as are powerful lobbying groups such as Equality California, the California Teachers Association and the CFT. Supporters sound confident they can land the bill on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, but are less certain about what happens when it gets there. Top aides to Newsom had joined the conversations last summer on the decision to hit pause. A Newsom spokesperson at the time said it was “imperative to turn down the noise of the culture wars.” The governor later vetoed a different transgender rights bill — one that would have asked courts to consider gender identity as a factor in deciding custody cases — in a move that infuriated and surprised members of the LGBTQ caucus. Newsom is quick to burnish his credentials as a champion for LGBTQ rights — this is the person who catapulted to the national stage as San Francisco mayor by issuing same-sex marriage licenses in the “Winter of Love” 20 years ago. But those close to him say he is cognizant that voter sentiment can be more muddled on trans issues and that getting out too far ahead could end up leading to backlash. A recent PPIC poll underscores the precarity of public opinion. The survey found that California voters were evenly split on whether schools should accommodate student requests to use their preferred pronouns. A spokesperson for Newsom said the governor typically does not weigh in on pending legislation and that he would evaluate the bill on its merits, should it reach his desk. Eggman, the caucus chair, said the group has been in conversation with the governor’s office — and expressed cautious optimism that he would sign the bill. “I think it would be very difficult for him not to,” she said, adding that the caucus didn’t seek a green light from the governor before proceeding. ”I think we have come up with a very good product. We think the time is right. We think the temperature has turned down a little bit. And so we could have this conversation in a civil kind of way.” IT’S WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to mmason@politico.com.
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