Per the Maryland Attorney General’s Office (1.9.23): Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of 16 Attorneys General in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of Chico Unified School District (CUSD) and its local school district policy of safeguarding the privacy and safety of transgender and gender-nonconforming students.
The plaintiff in Regino v. Stanley et al., a parent with children attending school in CUSD, filed a lawsuit challenging CUSD’s policy of limiting school staff from unnecessarily disclosing a
student’s transgender or gender-nonconforming status without the student’s consent. A federal district court granted CUSD’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s claims, and the plaintiff appealed
the ruling. In today’s brief, the coalition urges the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court’s decision to dismiss the plaintiff’s challenge to CUSD’s policy. Furthermore, the coalition
confirms its commitment to ensuring a safe and supportive school environment for all students, including transgender and gender nonconforming students, by preventing them from being
“outed” in situations that could cause psychological, emotional, or physical harm.
“Transgender and gender-nonconforming students have a right to privacy and a right to decide how and when they share private information regarding their identity,” said Attorney General
Brown. “I will continue to support the LGBTQIA+ community and their rights to make important and personal decisions regarding their own identity.”
In today’s brief, the coalition asserts:
• CUSD’s policy and similar longstanding policies throughout the nation support transgender and gender-nonconforming students and their families by involving
families wherever possible, while honoring and encouraging students’ ability to choose when and how to have gender identity conversations with their families.
• Transgender and gender-nonconforming students are vulnerable to abuse, suicide, and other forms of mental and physical harm because of the very real risk of being
rejected by their families and due to a lack of access to gender-affirming environments.
• States have an interest in making schools a safe and supportive environment for all youth, and all students benefit from safe and supportive schools.
• Policies like CUSD’s ensure a safe and supportive school environment, and a policy that protects transgender student privacy and preserves their trust increases their
academic success and lowers their risk of missing school, dropping out, or committing suicide.
In filing the brief, Attorney General Brown joins the Attorneys General of California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New
York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.”
https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/press/2024/010924a.pdf