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California schools’ gender-identity lunacy needs to end

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As a mother of four, I have spent more than two decades doing what mothers do: worrying, protecting, questioning, listening and trying to guide my children through an increasingly complicated world.

I know my children better than any teacher, administrator, politician or government bureaucrat ever could. I know when something is wrong before they tell me. I know their histories, their vulnerabilities, their personalities and their needs.

Still, I don’t know everything.

And California continues to advance an alarming idea: When it comes to some of the most personal questions our children may face, parents should not necessarily be told what is happening at school.

This week, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs ruled that California schools cannot be required to automatically notify parents when a student expresses a gender identity different from the one reflected in school records. 

If parents specifically ask, however, the school must answer them truthfully.

That is an important acknowledgment of parental rights, but it leaves us with a troubling question: Why should a mother or father have to know which question to ask?

California law bars school districts from adopting policies that require employees to automatically disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression without the student’s consent, unless otherwise required by law. 

The state argues that such protections safeguard students who may fear rejection or abuse at home.

Protecting children from genuine abuse is unquestionably important. If there is credible evidence that a child faces abuse or danger at home, schools and child-protection authorities........

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