Outrage as California schools forced to comply with all-gender restroom rule

California schools will be required to offer students access to at least one all-gender bathroom starting Wednesday under a new statewide mandate — a move that’s stoking anger from conservatives and concerned parents who say Sacramento is putting politics ahead of education.

The requirement, which takes effect July 1, stems from a 2023 law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of a package of legislation aimed at supporting the state’s LGBTQ community. Supporters said the measure would make schools more welcoming for transgender students.

“These measures will help protect vulnerable youth, promote acceptance, and create more supportive environments in our schools and communities,” Newsom said in September 2023.

School districts across the state have spent the past year preparing for the deadline, with several — including districts in Sacramento — saying they are already in compliance. The Chino Valley Unified School District, whose parental notification policies for transgender students helped spark the political battle that led to the law, told The California Post through a spokesperson that staff are working to ensure the district complies by Wednesday.

There is no state data on how many schools are in compliance. The California Department of Education told The Post it does not track statewide compliance data.

Costs to install the restrooms have been mostly minimal, sources told The Post, but have reached $100,000 or more for larger districts. That’s because the law allows converting existing restrooms, such as single-stall ones, to comply with the law. The money typically comes from the state’s general funding to schools, according to legislative analysis.

Even so, critics say schools are once again being forced to divert time and money toward politically charged mandates.

“This is another wasteful, politically driven mandate from Sacramento that ignores the real priorities of our schools,” Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School District board, told The Post. “At a time when California students are struggling academically, lawmakers once again forced schools to spend time and resources implementing social policies that the majority of California families fundamentally disagree with.”

Shaw, who is running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said while compliance may be easy for many districts, the law is a slippery slope.

“The greater concern is where this leads next. Parents have repeatedly warned against moving toward multi-stall all-gender facilities that eliminate sex-based privacy protections,” Shaw said. “Dismissing those concerns as political rhetoric is irresponsible.”

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Beth Bourne, a parent and activist in the Davis Joint Unified School District, told The Post she was shocked after discovering multiple all-gender bathrooms at district schools last year, including some with multiple stalls or menstrual products intended for non-binary students. The Post reached out to the district for comment.

“Why would any sane parent want their daughter to share a locked gender-neutral bathroom with a male student?” she said.

Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, told The Post that many Californians are still unaware that the mandate officially takes effect this week. While single-occupancy all-gender bathrooms are unlikely to draw widespread opposition, he argued that larger shared facilities raise more significant concerns.

He pointed to California’s State Capitol, where two multi-stall restrooms have already been converted to all-gender facilities.

“Kids who are here on field trips of both sexes pour into the same bathrooms with adults of both sexes,” he said. “Can you imagine sending little girls into these bathrooms with grown men in there relieving themselves? I doubt most parents would approve.”