California Policy Center has asked the State Bar to investigate California Attorney General Rob Bonta for making false statements in an effort to intimidate a local school board.
In a letter to Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) trustees, and other statements, Bonta misrepresented Department of Education guidance as binding law, and misrepresented federal law. CPC’s complaint to the bar asserts Bonta’s “menacing and overreaching words and actions” were designed to threaten CVUSD trustees with legal action if they adopted a “Parental Notification Policy.”
That policy requires CVUSD school officials, including teachers, to notify parents within 72 hours if they become aware that a student is requesting to use a different name or pronouns, or to participate in sex-segregated sports or use bathrooms that do not align with the student’s biological sex or gender on their birth certificate or other official records.
Despite Bonta’s legal threat, the CVUSD board voted 4-1 on July 20 to adopt the policy.
Bonta was undeterred. He announced on August 4, 2023, that his state Department of Justice had opened a civil rights investigation “into potential legal violations by the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD).”
CPC’s bar complaint asserts that Bonta’s false and misleading statements were part of a political intimidation campaign.
“In both his letter and his announced investigation, Attorney General Bonta made false and misleading statements, especially his claim that a minor-child’s right to privacy supersedes the well-established rights and responsibilities of that child’s parents,” said CPC president Will Swaim, who filed the bar complaint on behalf of CPC. “Attorney General Bonta knows, or should know, that the factual premise for his claims is false.”
CPC asked the State Bar to investigate, noting that Bonta “continues to flout state and constitutional law.” On August 11, the complaint notes, Bonta repeated his false and misleading statements following a vote of the Murrieta Valley Unified School District board to adopt a parental notification policy similar to Chino Valley’s.
CPC’s complaint points out that, on federal law, the state’s top attorney is simply wrong. Bonta “knows or should know that parents’ rights over their children are deeply rooted in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and repeatedly recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court,” the complaint reads. The complaint identifies specific misleading statements in Bonta’s July 20 letter.
Swaim says this sort of investigation is exactly why the bar was established.
“The State Bar has repeatedly demonstrated its readiness to investigate attorneys for precisely this sort of menacing behavior,” Swaim said. “For instance, the bar’s current investigation into the actions of California attorney John Eastman is built upon the bar’s declaration that, ‘[f]or California attorneys, adherence to the U.S. and California Constitutions is their highest legal duty,’” Swaim explained.
Despite Bonta’s attempt to intimidate and discourage other school boards from following Chino Valley and Murrieta Valley’s lead, both the Anderson Union High School District and Temecula Valley Unified School District trustees adopted a Parental Notification Policy this week. And, several school districts have either formally introduced a Parental Notification Policy for consideration or have scheduled hearings on such a policy in the coming weeks.
Don’t miss the in-depth article by Jennifer Van Laar on CPC’s complaint. Read CPC’s complaint to the State Bar here and CPC’s press release here.
Watch: CPC’s Parental Rights Virtual Open House
CPC’s Parent Union hosted a hugely successful Parental Rights Virtual Open House this week. Hundreds of viewers logged on to watch CPC’s Lance Christensen and Mari Barke, director of CPC’s California Local Elected Officials, interview some of the most dynamic and influential Californians leading the charge to defend parental rights and protect kids.
Guests included Senator Shannon Grove, Assemblyman Bill Essayli, and Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School Board that drew the ire of Attorney General Bonta. Other guests included parent group leaders from around the state: Amy Bohn, president of PERK (Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids); Jonathan Zachreson, Roseville City School Board trustee and co-founder of Protect Kids California; Erin Friday, co-leader of Our Duty; Greg Addouch, founder of Not on Our Watch; and pro-parent activist Frank Rodriguez.
The personal stories of each of these guests share a common theme: They are everyday Californians who put everything on the line to make a difference for Golden State families — and they are having an incredible impact in our great state.
You can watch each of these inspiring and informative 20-minute interviews here.
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The California Policy Center promotes prosperity for all Californians through limited government and individual liberty.
Learn more at CaliforniaPolicyCenter.org.
