When School Boards Aren’t Ignored, Parents Can Walk With Swag

The Rising Stakes Behind School Board Elections

Some might think those local school board elections are just about, I don’t know, school lunches and snow days. But let’s take a look at the drama unfolding in sunny California. 

This is a battle, not just over school policies, but every parent’s nightmare: A child is put on the school bus in the morning as a boy or girl, but then, in some magical, wizardly way, is transformed into the opposite gender starting at the chime of home room.

Let AI Jane narrate this story for you.

Teachers see it. Classmates see it. The principal sees it. Perhaps even the janitor sees it. Then, at the end of the day, the child reboards the bus, reconnects with his God-given gender, and returns home to reunite with his parents, who, thanks to school officials, are none the wiser of that day’s gender transition.

If the ruse is ever uncovered, parents are justifiably outraged. 

Some California school districts are finally listening to those outraged parents and beginning to stand with them. But as typically happens… 

…in comes the Big Bad Wolf, in this case, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Remember that name. Bonta. Bonta. Bonta. Got it?

Bonta is suing the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) for - dare I say it - having the common-sense decency to include parents in decisions about their children’s gender identity.

Now, imagine that. 

In a country built on the foundations of freedom, individual rights, and family values, Bonta wants to gaslight Americans into believing it’s absurd, dangerous, and hateful to be informed about their child’s gender identity.

“Every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity – regardless of their gender identity,” Attorney General Bonta said.

Bonta thinks that revealing a child’s gender change to parents is almost as bad as disclosing the school’s top-secret security apparatus to a mentally deranged gunman.

What should be laughed off as comical, infantile, and fit for a Dumb and Dumber script is being pushed as reasonable, virtuous, and responsible.

Bonta went as far as launching a lawsuit against CVUSD to “halt the enforcement” of their parental notification policy, even though no actual law prohibits school districts from doing so.

Does this remind you of something?

There’s no law in Georgia against making “false statements” about election results. So, what did Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis do? She imposed a decree making “false statements” a crime and charged 19 individuals, including Donald Trump, with conspiracy to overturn the 2020 elections.

That’s precisely what Bonta is doing in this lawsuit. Bonta seems to think he can rewrite laws on a whim. That he can simply bypass the democratic process in his crusade against what? Parental rights? 

“So he’s trying to make new law without having it go through the proper process,” says Sonja Shaw, Board President of CVUSD. 

She’s standing tall and believes these ruthless, dictatorial tactics by Bonta are self-defeating and actually embolden school districts to pass parental notification policies. 

This is the American spirit in action! The harder you push, the stronger we stand.

And here’s the kicker: California’s tempest is spreading. 

Other school districts, like the Temecula Valley and Murrieta Valley, have joined CVUSD’s ranks, passing similar parental notification policies. 

And what did they get in return? More huffing and puffing from Bonta.

But what’s the REAL motive behind Bonta’s targeting these school districts? 

Well, let’s follow the breadcrumbs. Many of these districts recently flipped from liberal to majority conservative. There are new faces. New voices. 

Parents, grandparents, and just ordinary citizens are finally taking a stand against liberal, whacked-out school policies, and they want school boards to reflect the real faces of their communities, not the faces of those woke, minority activists who hate America AND its parents.

But Bonta is not a fan of that kind of grassroots democracy. So, he wants to tie them up in costly, frivolous lawsuits which they can ill afford. In other words, win or lose, Bonta intends to punish the community for putting those new faces in power. He wants to hit their pocketbooks.

Bonta hopes that maybe, just maybe, people will vote with their wallets before voting with their heads, convictions, religious beliefs, or rights as parents.”

But lawsuits can be a two-way street, can’t it?

A California mother won a landmark settlement last week after she took a school district to court that “socially transitioned” her daughter without her consent.

Jessica Konen filed the lawsuit against the Spreckels Union School District in 2021, alleging that the district had kept her daughter’s gender identity secret.

Konen’s daughter, who is now 15 years old, began identifying as transgender in the seventh grade. The district’s staff began referring to her by a male name and pronouns and allowed her to use the boys’ bathroom. 

They also told her classmates about her gender identity without Konen’s knowledge.

Are you paying attention? Teachers are okay. Principals are okay. Classmates are okay. Hell, a janitor is probably okay. But parents? That’s a no, no.

The district denied any wrongdoing but agreed to settle the lawsuit for $100,000. 

Yes, lawsuits can be a two-way street! But lawsuits can also flatline a party’s political goal in addition to suffering loss of money.

In Konen’s case, for instance, the settlement also requires the district to notify parents before changing a student’s gender identity. Take that, Bonta!

Konen said she was pleased with the settlement and hoped it would send a message to other schools about the importance of parental involvement in transgender issues.

It’s high time we realize the power of our school boards and the importance of paying attention to those elections that often go under the radar.

It’s not just about school lunch menus. It’s about preserving our rights, our democracy, and our voice in the education of our children.

So, next time there’s a local school board election, remember the story of these brave districts and parents in California. 

As voters, we can and should stand up for what’s right. After all, it’s not just about schools; it’s about the future of our nation. And that future starts in school.

Martin Mawyer is president of Christian Action Network, which he founded in 1990. Located in Lynchburg, VA, CAN was formed as a non-profit educational organization to protect America’s religious and moral heritage. He is the author of several books, including You Are Chosen: Prepare to Triumph in a Fallen World.