Ban on schools’ gender notification policies heads to Newsom. Will he sign it?

By Carolyn Jones (CALMATTERS) – The battle over trans rights has mostly played out at school boards, but is now erupting in Sacramento as lawmakers seek to limit local authority on the issue. Following a raucous, emotional hearing last week in the Assembly, legislators sent a bill, AB 1955, to Gov. Gavin Newsom that would stop school districts from notifying parents if a student starts using different pronouns or otherwise identifies as a gender other than what’s on school records. Newsom has 12 days from receiving a bill to decide whether to sign it, and in this case it’s not a given that he will. Although he’s been a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights since he’s been in politics, last year he vetoed a bill that would have required judges to consider parents’ acceptance of a child’s gender identity in custody disputes. He said he was uncomfortable singling out a specific group and feared it could lead to attempts to curtail the rights of vulnerable groups of people. And as Newsom increasingly plays to a national audience, he might inch more toward the center on controversial issues such as this. Dramatic scene on Assembly floor The scene Thursday on the...