School board president said 'Involving the parents should have never been a national issue. It should be a common sense'
California school board president on AG probe into policy requiring staff to inform parents about kid's gender identity: 'Laughable'
CVUSD Board president Sonja Shaw told Fox News Digital that the civil rights investigation against her school district is a 'ploy' to blackmail them and other districts.
A California school board president spoke to Fox News Digital after state Attorney General Rob Bonta launched a civil rights investigation into the school district’s policy requiring staff to inform parents if their kids change their gender identity.
The Chino Valley Unified School District in July adopted a policy that forces schools to inform parents about changes to their children's gender identity.
CVUSD board president Sonja Shaw told Fox News Digital that Bonta’s civil rights investigation against the district is a "ploy" to "blackmail" them and other districts.
Chino Valley Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Norm Enfield, left, and President Sonja Shaw, right listen to a speaker during a board meeting at Don Lugo High School in Chino on Thursday night July 20, 2023. (Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images)
"It's definitely to try to blackmail and to scare us and to scare other districts because they know other districts are scheduled to adopt--hopefully--this policy all throughout California. And no one wants to go into any kind of review because what it does is it ties up your staff," Shaw said.
Shaw shared how a civil rights investigation into a school district would burden staff members with a workload that is "frivolous," has "no standing," and "no one wants to do." The workload consists of meticulous work that will prevent staff from carrying out their day-to-day responsibilities according to Shaw.
She added how the workload foisted on staff due to the civil rights investigation will cost the district money that could be used for the students.
"He's also spending our children's money here locally because we have to get legal involved, and that's embarrassing for him. Why is he taking money from our children's education to tie it up into something that absolutely shouldn't even be an issue," Shaw said.
Sonja Shaw speaks out about kicking a state superintendent out of her board of education meeting in California. (Fox News Digital)
"Involving the parents should have never been a national issue. It should be a common sense thing that we involve the parents," Shaw said.
According to a press release from Bonta's office, the attorney general stated the investigation is in the interest of protecting students from "trauma, harassment, bullying, and exposure to violence and threats of violence."
"Chino Valley Unified’s forced outing policy threatens the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ students vulnerable to harassment and potential abuse from peers and family members unaccepting of their gender identity. Today’s announcement stresses our commitment to challenging school policies that target and seek to discriminate against California’s most vulnerable communities. California will not stand for violations of our students’ civil rights," the press release stated.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Friday launched a civil rights investigation against the Chino Valley Unified School District over their policy requiring staff to "out" transgender students. ((AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File))
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Bonta’s announcement came after he sent a letter on July 10th to CVUSD, threatening to "take action as appropriate to vigorously protect students’ civil rights."
Bonta’s letter warned Superintendent Norman Enfield and the board of education about the "potential infringements on students' civil and privacy rights and educational opportunities."
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Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.
Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program.
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