The Southern California city of Huntington Beach on Tuesday approved a Parents’ Right to Know ordinance, which prohibits educators who work throughout the city from keeping information about minor children hidden from their parents. 

The ordinance sets the city up to legally challenge Assembly Bill 1955, which Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in July. Newsom’s bill makes California the first state in the nation to ban school districts from alerting parents of their children’s sexuality or if they have adopted gender identities that conflict with those on their school records.

The Huntington Beach City Council does not have direct authority over school districts, but the ordinance states that educators entrusted with the teaching or caring of children, who work in the city’s libraries, parks, recreational facilities, community services facilities or other facilities will not be allowed to withhold information from parents related to a child’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. 

“It sends a signal to our community in Huntington Beach of 200,000 residents that we are a ‘Parents’ Right to Know’ city, and that educators should not interfere in the parent-child relationship,” city attorney Michael Gates told The Daily Signal.

According to the ordinance, “Numerous studies assert that transgender and gender nonconforming students suffer from increased psychological, emotional and physical harassment and abuse, and that transgender youth experience an abnormally high number of suicidal thoughts and make an abnormally high number of suicide attempts.” 

Further, the ordinance states that “The matters of ‘student sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression’ contained in the prohibition of AB 1955 are not related to ‘education,’ but instead are subject matters that are extremely ‘private’ and highly ‘personal’ for the parent and child.” 

State law defines Huntington Beach as a charter city, meaning the California Constitution authorizes it to govern itself on municipal affairs. The ordinance says the protection of parents and children is a perfect example of a municipal matter, as it would involve the rights of Huntington Beach parents.

The ordinance refers to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which provides that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized parents’ constitutional right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children. This includes the right to direct their children’s upbringing and education.” 

Gates told The Daily Signal that the state has run afoul of the law and its policies and has been overreaching beyond constitutional bounds for years. “It’s about time that somebody or someone stands up against the state,” he said. 

If at any point the state presses charges against the city related to the ordinance, the mayor says she is prepared. 

“This is all about government overreach … .,” she told Daily Pilot. “We’re not going to give up on our rights to raise our own children. They’re claiming that this is government overreach, but AB 1955 is the actual overreach. We’re pushing back. We wouldn’t be doing any of this if the governor wouldn’t have overstepped with AB 1955.”

The Liberty Justice Center, which is challenging the constitutionality of AB 1955, released a statement in support of the city’s new ordinance. 

“The Liberty Justice Center is supporting parental rights in California by challenging AB 1955 and defending school districts from Chino Valley to Rocklin Unified,” said Senior Counsel Emily Rae. “We are encouraged by the leadership of Huntington Beach City Council in enacting an ordinance that declares Huntington Bach a ‘Parents’ Right to Know City.”

She added: “Parents are the legal guardians of their minor children and have the right to know what their children are doing at school. The vast majority of California voters across the political spectrum support parental rights. The Liberty Justice Center is proud to represent our clients in California for free and to support them in fighting for their individual rights and liberties as parents.”

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