Golden State Today

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Joins Legislators and LGBTQ+ Advocates to Support Legislation for Safe and Supportive Learning Environments for All Students

May 22, 2024

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today joined Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) and Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, along with teachers, parents, and LGBTQ+ advocates, to announce Assembly Bill (AB) 1955. The bill, named the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth (SAFETY) Act, aims to ensure all students have a safe and supportive environment to learn regardless of gender identity.

If signed into law, the SAFETY Act would prohibit school districts from implementing forced outing policies. It would also provide resources for parents and students to navigate conversations around gender and identity on their own terms and ensure that teachers or school staff are not retaliated against for refusing to forcibly out a student.

“All of our students deserve to be safe at school in order to learn and thrive,” Thurmond said. “AB 1955 protects our LGBTQ+ youth from increased risk of bullying and harassment, and it affirms families’ ability to handle family matters at home without school employees being forced to intervene. The SAFETY Act will allow our teachers to focus on teaching academic skills—not on policing gender identity.”

Since 2020, six states have passed laws requiring school staff to forcibly out transgender students, while five states have passed legislation promoting the outing of transgender students in schools. California would be the first state to explicitly prohibit forced outing policies in schools.

“Teachers should not be the gender police and violate the trust and safety of the students in their classrooms,” Assemblymember Ward said. “Parents should be talking to their children, and the decision for a student to come out to their family members should be on their own terms. The SAFETY Act simply ensures that conversations about gender identity and sexuality happen at home without interference from others outside of the family unit.”

“School campuses should be safe places for students to learn and grow as their authentic selves,” Senator Eggman said. “The SAFETY Act is a critical piece of legislation that seeks to protect everyone on school campuses, especially LGBTQ+ students. When and how a person comes out is a conversation that should be reserved for a student and a parent, not arbitrarily forced on unsuspecting youth by a school administration.”

Transgender youth are entitled to safe school environments free from discrimination—even when they may feel unsafe or unaffirmed at home. According to a 2024 Trevor Project survey, fewer than 40 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth say that their homes are LGBTQ+-affirming. The survey also found that more than half of transgender and nonbinary young people found their school to be gender-affirming; those who did reported lower rates of attempting suicide.

Thurmond has a strong record of supporting LGBTQ+ students and educators. In 2019, he co-sponsored a bill with Equality California Institute encouraging teachers' training on resources available for supporting LGBTQ+ students facing bullying or lack of acceptance at home or school. Consequently, last year saw CDE partnering with Los Angeles County Office of Education leading teacher trainings with critical resources needed for helping California’s LGBTQ+ students.

Thurmond sponsored Senate Bill 760—All-Gender Restrooms (Newman), requiring all K–12 schools in California provide equitable access to all-gender restrooms during school hours; AB 5—The Safe & Supportive Schools Act (Zbur), mandating K–12 schools offer training supporting LGBTQ+ pupils.

Additionally, Thurmond supports CDE’s LGBTQ+ Pride Committee which organized its first Progress Pride Flag Raising Ceremony last June marking Pride Month's start; flag flew over CDE Headquarters through June's entirety.

Another goal includes creating an LGBTQ+ Statewide Advisory Task Force (LGBTQ+ SAT) identifying needs among these students recommending supportive policy implementations addressing education/well-being issues reporting findings/recommendations Legislature/Superintendent/Governor via virtual meetings July '24-January '26 approximately six times total applying Appointments Application deadline May '29,'24 detailed information support provided CDE Supporting web page anticipated hearing Senate Education Committee next week.