The latest sign of the growing left-wing dystopia that once was the Golden State came on September 23 as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills into law that require educators to teach transgender rights. The laws follow on the heels of a recent veto by the governor that would have changed the way courts handle custody decisions regarding minors who identify as transgender.
The new laws set regulations for training of teachers and staff serving California’s 1,018 school districts which serve more than five million students.
The law will set a timeline for teachers and staff to receive “cultural competency” training that will direct how to indoctrinate kids into the new-wave gender ideologies that are in fashion currently. Another law dictates that districts must create at least one gender-neutral bathroom by 2026. Whether this can be accomplished by installing a porta-potty is not yet clear, but any single-use bathroom should suffice. The law does not include funding for districts to designate and stock bathrooms in accordance with the law.
School boards in #California will no longer be able to ban instructional materials containing "inclusive and diverse perspectives" under a new law signed by Gov. @GavinNewsom.
AB 1078 faced opposition from Republicans who have branded it "heavy-handed." https://t.co/es0Yw06t4c
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) September 26, 2023
A third law will require that foster parents be willing to accept children who are LGBT. None of the laws impact an ongoing legal battle concerning policy decisions at several school districts that require parents to be notified when their minor children wish to use different pronouns, want to join a non-gender conforming sports team or have suicidal thoughts.
School districts in liberal parts of the state see these policies as anti-LGBT and state that many children who express symptoms of gender dysphoria, the mental health diagnosis given to patients who believe they are not of their birth gender, will ultimately harm children by forcing them to have honest conversations with their parents.
There have been a number of controversial decisions relating to the way transgender beliefs are taught in schools across the nation. California is considered the leader in forcing transgender teaching on students, while states like Texas and Florida are championing parental rights and a wait-and-see policy that protects children from following along with the current fad.
Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, currently the second-place candidate for the GOP nomination for president, will debate in November. The DeSantis campaign has recently fallen further behind the campaign of former President Donald Trump who is seeking to retake the White House in 2024 and is the current leading candidate in either party. Newsom has floated the idea of running against President Joe Biden but has not confirmed whether he will try and oust the sitting president.
