With three trustees ultimately absent for the vote, citing safety concerns, the Orange Unified School District board passed a transgender parental notification policy just before midnight.
The policy requires a certificated staff member or principal to inform parents if their child — who is under 12 years of age — is requesting to use different names or pronouns or requests to change sex-segregated programs such as athletic teams or changing facilities that differ from the student’s “assigned biological sex at birth.”
If the student is over 12, it is up to a school counselor or psychologist to decide if it is appropriate to inform the family.
Board members finally voted around 11:30 p.m. after several interruptions and delays during an acrimonious meeting. At one point, a demonstrator stood and shouted through a megaphone, causing a ruckus and a bit of a skirmish, and the meeting was briefly paused.
When the meeting resumed, Trustees Kris Erickson, Ana Page and Andrea Yamasaki were absent and did not return for the vote. Board President Rick Ledesma and Trustees John Ortega, Angie Rumsey and Madison Miner were left to vote on the policy, and all were in agreement.
“This is a vote for the safety of our kids,” said Miner. “Keeping parents aware of what is happening is the only way we can move forward towards safety in our district.”
The policy was tweaked from the version detailed during OUSD’s August meeting.
“I had some questions regarding the language and formatting and needed clarification of the policy,” Rumsey said in a brief interview. “I think this was done in collaboration with the OUSD district attorney, and then presented during this board meeting as the second reading.”
That original policy said parents would be notified by writing within three days if a student requested to use a different name or pronoun or wanted to change sex-segregated programs such as athletic teams or changing facilities that differ…
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