District votes to KEEP ‘parental secrecy’ policy regarding gender

A California mother who says her 11-year-old daughter’s school encouraged her to transfer also “ignored her” request that her gender identity be revealed to family — as the school district voted to enforce “parental secrecy” policies.

The Chico Unified School District voted to maintain a policy that allows them not to inform parents if a child identifies as a different gender at school, with trans activist Squeaky Saint Francis adamant that the policy could save lives.

The board weighed a measure that would allow for “greater parental inclusion,” but ultimately voted 3 to 2 to maintain the existing “parental secrecy policy.”

Aurora Regino, who is suing the district, expressed frustration and calls for more transparency by claiming that her daughter, who is now identifying as female again, was under stress making the decision.

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My daughter was upset and began to question her sexuality, so she decided to reach out to a wellness counselor at her elementary school,” she said.

“The day my daughter told her guidance counselor she felt like a boy. The counselor immediately confirmed this new identity.

“My daughter told the counselor she wanted to tell me about her new identity. The counselor ignored her request and did nothing to support her and let me know what was going on at school.”

Oliva Phillips, a teacher who supports student privacy policies, asserted, “We as educators and service providers, we as educators need to cultivate an environment where students feel trust, security and acceptance, to be unapologetically themselves without repercussions of backlash.”

Meanwhile, trans activist Squeaky Saint Francis, who is polyamorous, said school is often the only place for children to discover their gender identity.

“I’ll speak out loud for those who can’t speak, I’m a proud he, she, she, they, whatever.” I’m a beautiful woman’s boyfriend, I’m a beautiful trans man’s girlfriend, and I’m also a beautiful woman’s girlfriend,’ they said.

“Growing up in this city, my mother always told me to love myself for who I am not what I am not.

“We can’t all be so lucky and have such a supporter, I even knew friends at school who would bring a whole set of clothes so they could dress the way they felt inside and be free from persecution they would feeling at home or the sideways glances.’

They went on to explain that they had been one of the lucky ones and learned “trust” in the process, but not everyone has access to that at home.

“One of the first things we learn in a healthy family is trust and unfortunately some parents don’t trust their kids when they say it’s me and make that decision for them,” they said.

“That can make the child afraid of the people who claim to protect them. These children can see the hatred and prejudice at home for people like them and feel that the only place they can be themselves is at school.

‘Every child has to decide for themselves when they go out.’

They supported the policy, explaining that it could mean the difference between life and death.

“If you take away this ability, this control to turn themselves off, you forcibly place them in a potentially violent household where their parents can kick them out, force them into conversion camps, or relinquish their parental rights and put them in the system and God forbid she might contemplate suicide,” they said.

“Changing this policy would be a very slippery slope.”

The policy that board members voted for extends to children from kindergarten who are about five years old and going through 12th grade, according to Regino.

“It’s incredibly damaging that they have such crazy policies for such young children,” she said Fox newsarguing that at such a tumultuous time in the lives of children and adolescents, parental guidance is most needed.

She’s suing the school district for allegedly spending weeks encouraging her fifth-grade daughter to transition to a man — including changing her name and pronouns — after saying she “felt like a boy.”

Regino said she was “appalled” that a guidance counselor at Sierra View Elementary School in Chico had not informed her of the advice they were giving her child.

She claims that a “Parental Secrecy Policy” from California’s Assembly Bill 1226 — a 2013 law that extended protections to transgender people in schools — meant she was unaware of the discussions.

Regino said her daughter — referred to only as AS in the lawsuit — had been with guidance counselor Mandi Robertson in early 2022 due to her grandfather’s death.

One day the girl confessed to the counselor that she “felt like a boy.” According to her mother, Robertson confirmed her feelings “that same day” and “within minutes.”

The daughter was reportedly “unsure” whether she wanted a masculine name or pronouns, but felt “pressured” by Robertson to adopt them.

Regino said her daughter even wanted to tell her what was going on, but the school told her to “come out” to other people first, meaning the mother was unaware.

The lawsuit says she “didn’t quite understand what was going on” but started being known with a male name at school, while still being addressed as female at home – which eventually led to her wanting to change schools .

The counselor began encouraging discussions about “sexuality and gender identity” among classmates over the following weeks, including how to deal with feeling of being a different gender, according to the lawsuit.

Regino said Fox news“For a few months she had opened up to a guidance counselor and the guidance counselor the same day she opened up and said she felt like a man walked her to class and confirmed it that day.”

But the lawsuit argues that the 14th Amendment means Regino must be able to direct her child’s education and be involved in decision-making about her education — something the school accuses her of denying.

It reads, “By socially changing AS without informing Ms. Regino or obtaining her consent, the district has violated Ms. Regino’s fundamental right to direct her child’s education.”

In the end, the girl told her grandmother, who told Aurora – and she immediately contacted the director of the school.

In April 2022, Ted Sullivan, the district director of elementary education, Ted Sullivan told Regino that California law requires schools to allow students to transition socially without telling their parents unless the student gives them permission to do so.

The district’s deputy superintendents Jay Marchant and Kelly Staley also said the parental secrecy policy was mandated by law.

Regino was keen to confirm that she supports her child and any identity she chooses, but has objected to not being informed by the school first.

She said she wanted her daughter to be “happy and healthy in whatever identity she chooses,” but added that she would have asked her to see a mental health professional due to her young age and rapid beginning of these feelings.

‘AS’ now identifies as female again and her mother said the confusion was only caused by other stresses in her life at the time, for which she is now undergoing private therapy.

“I want this to stop,” Ms. Regino told Fox News, “our children need protection.”

Both of her daughters still attend district schools, although AS now attends Marsh Junior High.

The district is a public school in Chico and operates 23 schools – twelve elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, and four others.

Regino said she filed the lawsuit against the district on Jan. 6.