POLITICS: Feds block trans lunacy in California schools

Finally –– the federal government has intervened to protect parents’ rights against the radical transgender agenda in California’s public schools and universities.

Two key decisions by the U.S. Department of Education this week defended the rights of parents and girls –– and exposed California’s aggressive push to violate those rights.

Parents across California now know that the federal government sides with families above special interests.

As president of the Chino Valley Unified School District, I’ve led the fight against state overreach that targets families who demand transparency. 

Gov. Newsom, the California Department of Education, and Attorney General Rob Bonta, a close Newsom ally, sued my district over a basic parental notification policy –– one that simply informed parents when their child sought to change school records. 

We won in court. The state dropped its appeal rather than defend the case.

That battle showed what’s at stake: children’s safety, privacy, and parents’ fundamental rights.

Now, two major federal decisions have dealt back-to-back blows to this agenda of secrecy.

First, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ruled that San Jose State University violated Title IX, the 1972 federal law requiring equal opportunities for women in education, by allowing a biological male to compete on the women’s volleyball team. 

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That policy denied female athletes fair competition, put their safety at risk in shared facilities, and erased their hard-won titles and records. 

The Trump administration ordered concrete fixes: Adopt biology-based definitions of male and female, restore stolen achievements, issue personal apologies to every affected woman, and halt the discrimination immediately. 

These aren’t suggestions. They are requirements –– proving that federal law still protects girls when states ignore biology.

Second, the Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office found the California Department of Education in violation of FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a 1974 federal law that gives parents the right to access and review their children’s education records. 

California pressured schools to hide students’ gender transitions using secret “gender support plans,” documents detailing name changes, pronoun shifts, facility access, and social transitions. 

Laws signed by Newsom, such as AB 1955, reinforced this egregious approach by barring required notification to parents without student consent. 

The feds properly rejected this secrecy: These plans count as education records under federal law, parents must have access to them upon request, and the state cannot coerce districts to violate federal law. 

California must stop the pressure and issue clear and lawful guidance to districts.

These aren’t isolated wins. 

They are victories against a coordinated state effort that puts ideology ahead of children and families. 

In sports, girls lose fairness and safety. 

In schools, young children face confusing messages that biology is fluid, parents are obstacles, and secrets from family are normal, even in elementary grades. 

I’ve seen the fallout: girls avoiding locker rooms by changing in cars, kids left isolated and distressed, parents shut out of decisions with lifelong impact, and districts bullied for protecting families. 

The pattern is the same: Hide the truth, prioritize adult agendas, and punish dissent. 

My district faced lawsuits and harassment for refusing to comply. Newsom, Bonta and state education officials have fought federal oversight at every turn. 

But the law prevailed twice in one day. 

In sports: Honor biology, restore fairness, and acknowledge the harm done to female athletes. 

In schools: End the hidden plans, drop the coercion, protect single-sex spaces, and respect parents’ access rights under federal law.

The new federal intervention empowers parents to demand that their districts follow federal law fully –– and reject policies that conceal transitions while insisting on schools that prioritize kids’ safety and well-being.

Our daughters deserve fair competition and protection. 

Our children deserve open communication with the people who care about them the most: their parents. 

California kids belong to families, not the state. These victories mark a turning point, but we must continue to fight in order to ensure they are enforced in practice.

Stand up, speak out, and hold officials accountable. 

Enough is enough.

Sonja Shaw is the president of the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education and a candidate for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction.