HALL MONITOR: “YES” on Parental Rights in California Schools

Name: California AB 1314, on parental involvement and notification

Summary: California AB 1314 would establish parameters for parental involvement in public schools. It would protect parents’ ability to review curriculum and learning materials and the right to be notified about their minor child’s request to use another name or pronouns at school. 

Status: Died in Education Committee on January 31, 2024

According to Ballotpedia, the overwhelming majority of states (41) refer to the larger legislative chamber as a “House of Representatives.” California is one of five states that refers to this chamber as an “assembly.” The other three states call this chamber the “House of Delegates.” 

Sponsors: This bill was introduced by Assembly Members Bill Essayli, James Gallagher, and Joe Patterson and co-authored by Assembly Member Devon Mathis. 

Bill Breakdown: This bill outlines the rights and opportunities parents should have to access and participate in their child’s education. This includes: 

  • Access learning materials and curriculum
  • The right to be notified if their minor child is inexplicably absent from school
  • The ability to volunteer in their child’s classroom and participate in “parent advisory” committees 
  • Access to their students’ records, grades, and performance on standardized tests
  • The right to be notified about the school’s “disciplinary rules and procedures”
  • Notification of, and ability to consent to, child psychological testing; more broadly, the right to drive decisions regarding their child’s mental health. 
  • Notification of a child’s request to use a different name, pronouns, and sex-separated facilities like restrooms that are not aligned with the child’s biological sex

Why does PDE Action support this bill? 

Parents, not the government, are a child’s first and foremost caretakers. Unfortunately, schools across the country have usurped the right and responsibility of parents to direct a child’s care and education. 

Parents Defending Education, our partner organization, has tracked more than 1,000 school districts with parental exclusion policies—which state that parents may not be notified if their child decides to live as another gender identity at school. 

Regardless of one’s stance on gender ideology as a whole, it is vital that parents are in the driver’s seat when it comes to making decisions that affect their child’s mental and physical health. 

PDE Action believes that children are more likely to succeed if and when their parents are involved in their lives—including their education. Parental involvement in a child’s life should not be cut off when a child enters school. 

AB 1314 would ensure that parents are not excluded from their child’s life once he or she enters the schoolhouse doors. The bill would set a standard for parental involvement and notification in California schools.