It’s caging in on you, concealing such a sacred aspect of your identity from almost everyone you know, everyone but one trusted confidant you are sure will keep your secret. You glance up at your them—a teacher, counselor or school staff member—with the tiniest shred of hope for acceptance and support. However, now in some school districts, employees can no longer be your confidant; Bound by bureaucratic policies made under threat of disciplinary hearings and termination, they are forced to reveal your most closely guarded secret to whom you fear most.

This is no piece of dystopian fiction. It is the reality of countless students nationwide subjected to parental notification—or forced outing—policies proposed nationwide by right-wing school board members and parents. Even in California, school districts like the Orange Unified and Chino Valley Unified School District are implementing, and subsequently being sued, over such policies. Chino’s policy was blocked from implementation, per the ruling of a state Superior Court judge.

This escalating assault against the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ youth, especially transgender and non-binary people, must be stopped, as it has a profoundly negative impact on LGBTQ+ students’ mental health and compromises their right to a safe school environment.

The consequences are laid bare just by the worsening mental health conditions of LGBTQ+ youth in the past few years. Nearly 70% of respondents to a nationwide survey on LGBTQ+ youth this year by the Trevor Project reported symptoms of anxiety, in addition to nearly half of respondents seriously considering suicide. Two-thirds of respondents stated that anti-LGBTQ+ policies being implemented nationwide played a factor in their worsening mental health.

Not only are parental notification policies harmful to students’ mental health, but they also trample on students’ fundamental right to privacy. Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the California Department of Education emphasize that, under both federal laws and the California Education Code, students have a fundamental right to keep certain personal information, including gender identities, confidential: a sentiment echoed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta in his recent statements.

“Forced outing policies wrongfully and unconstitutionally discriminate against and violate the privacy rights of LGBTQ+ students,” Bonta said in a statement announcing a lawsuit against such efforts.

Supporters of such policies often argue that parents have a “right to know” if their children are transgender and that parental notification policies protect parental rights. In reality, forced outing policies are the antithesis of parental rights. There is no “expansion of rights,” there is only its erosion. The most important factor of student success in education—students’ trust in school staff, the bond between parents and students that is cited as the very reason for these policies, and student safety is and will be put on the chopping block, all at the expense of the divisive, right-wing political theater that supports no one but extremist politicians.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t those who are fighting back. IUSD, led by district LGBTQ+ liaison Maureen Muir, stands out as those advocating for affirming, not outing, policies. IUSD’s establishment of a dedicated LGBTQ+ liaison position, along with school-by-school transgender/non-binary support groups and monthly district-wide support meetings, are prime examples of inclusive policies that districts nationwide should adopt.

“We have a long way to go in IUSD, but I believe we have a pretty solid foundation,” Muir said. “Our first priority is to ensure that all students are protected, no matter what.”

For every day of indifference and inaction, the fallout from hateful policies costs lives, erodes trust and dismantles dreams. Only through action can we ensure that the society of tomorrow is more inclusive, accepting and diverse than the society of yesterday so that one day, all students can safely be their authentic selves.

This story was originally published on The Northwood Howler on September 29, 2023.