On Oct. 18 Capistrano Unified School District voted 5-2 against enacting the parental notification policy.
The parental notification policy was a requirement for teachers to notify students’ parents about their children’s undisclosed gender identity, without students’ permission.
This policy created a dispute between students who disagreed with the policy and conservative parents who wished to enforce it. Parents and students gathered in protest at the Capistrano Unifies School District board meeting to discuss this enforcement.
Parents attending and speaking at the conference who voted for this policy to be enacted stated, “We parents must be informed about our child’s identity, and a secret like that should not be kept from us.”
Students in rebuttal disputed that “not all kids have a safe family to disclose their identity to, as many children are scared to come out to their parents in fear of being mentally or physically abused.”
Eli Gunn (12), a student from Aliso Niguel High School, was one of the many students who came to protest about this issue at the board meeting. “It was inspiring and very impactful to see all the kids from Aliso who came for the parental notification. I was very proud to see the community we built on campus!” he says.
The dispute lasted from around 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the place was very crowded with students and parents all around the front door. Barely any parking spaces were available and many had to leave to go home because there was no available parking.
Parents and students showed their forms of protest in various ways. Many people brought flags and posters, many of whom wore shirts saying “Protect our Children!”
Parents and others in protest wore white shirts, while students and additional disagreeing members wore purple shirts to make a clear statement about which side they were on. Those wearing purple shirts held up a candle passed around during the conference, to support those students who decided to share their stories and voices.
