Newsom signs law to prevent forced outings of students

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill into law that is being called The SAFETY Act, designed to protect students and employees from forced outings.

It prohibits any school board policy, rule, or administrative regulation that requires forced outings of LGBTQ+ students.

That includes preventing districts from telling parents about a student's sexual orientation, gender identity, preferred pronouns, or gender expression without the student's consent.

PFLAG Fresno was one of the organizations to sign on in support of the bill. President Drew Harbaugh said he was relieved to see it signed into law.

"One of the things that the policies of forced outing does is create a rift of trust, of distrust between educators and students a lot of times, students, young adults, they do feel more comfortable coming out to their friends at school, to their peers, to a trusted school counselor to a trusted teacher as a stepping stone for them being able to come out at home," said Harbaugh.

Assemblyman Jim Patterson voted against AB 1955. In a statement to Action News, he said quote,

"In the nearly 12 years I have been in the State Assembly, I have never seen an effort to damage the relationship between children and their parents like this one. Especially at a time when children need their parents' love and understanding the most. This is an evil bill. When it came before me on the Assembly floor, I was an emphatic NO! The state does not own our children. They have no business getting between parents and children, especially on something as potentially damaging as this."

Assemblyman Christopher Ward from San Diego authored the bill.

"Forced outing policies harm everyone -- parents, family, and school staff by unnecessarily compelling the staff to involve themselves in family matters and removing the opportunities for families to build trust and have conversations on their own terms," said Ward.

Terry Stasio with the Fresno Stonewall Democratic Club also applauds the bill, he said it protects students' physical and mental health.

"Many times the perceived fear is just as bad as a real threat and these kids could decide to run away after their parents have been given that information," said Stasio, President of Fresno Stonewall Democratic Club. "Many kids are just afraid of being rejected."

Action News reached out to several school districts about the new legislation.

In a statement, Clovis Unified said, in part:

"Our responsibility has been and continues to be to follow the law (both state and federal) and do so with care and compassion for our students and their families. We are analyzing this bill in its final form to evaluate whether or not it has any impact on our existing practices."

The bill also provides schools, students, and employees with resources to help navigate conversations around gender and identity.

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