Aurora Regino, a mother from California, expressed her outrage towards her 11-year-old daughter’s school district for their so-called “parental secrecy” policy, which allowed her daughter to transition from female to male without notifying her.
Regino claimed that her daughter sought help from a “mental wellness” counselor after her father passed away and as Regino was fighting cancer, and that during one of the sessions, the girl asked for her mother to be informed about her new identity, but her request was ignored.
The Chico Unified School Board considered a measure to allow for more parental inclusion, however, they voted 3-2 to keep the existing policy, which keeps parents in the dark if their child identifies as a different gender at school. Regino believes that this policy is damaging, and that her daughter was bullied and wasn’t provided the support she needed from her family. Eventually, she was informed by her grandmother.
In response to this, the Center for American Liberty has filed a lawsuit against the school’s superintendent and board members on behalf of Regino. Simultaneously, pro-LGBTQ+ protesters showed up to support the district’s policy. Regino commented that she was shocked at how the board allowed people to “heckle and bully parents who were speaking about the right to be involved in their own children’s lives.” The center’s CEO Harmeet Dhillon also added that the Chico Unified School Board’s decision is “a slap in the face to every parent whose child is under their care,” and that if the board does not rescind the policy, the court will.