Chico Unified officials say more than $80 million in taxpayer-approved funds is getting used to address long-known problems at aging schools.
The district is updating or rebuilding most elementary schools, two middle schools and, eventually, both high schools.
Several elementary schools are getting new transitional kindergarten classrooms to prepare for the launch of a new state-mandated TK program for 4-year-olds at the start of the new school year Aug. 19. Those schools are Little Chico Creek, Marigold and Emma Wilson elementaries, and the funding comes from the Measure K bond issue.
“It’s [the TK program] been a challenge for the whole state to implement, but we’re lucky because we have bond dollars,” said Julie Kistle, director of facilities and construction.read more
Chico parent Aurora Regino makes progress on appeal
by Natalie Hanson | Posted May 12, 2025
photo by Karen Laslo
CUSD offices
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has given new life to a lawsuit against Chico Unified School District that was filed in response to its policy that shaped the handling of a gender identity case.
The higher court in April said that U.S. Eastern District Court Judge John Mendez erred in dismissing a lawsuit filed by Chico parent Aurora Regino. Mendez said Regino didn’t have the legal foundation to pursue a claim opposing the district’s anti-discrimination and student privacy policy.
That policy prohibits the school from notifying parents about a student’s gender identity concerns or decisions without the student’s consent.read more
A Chico mother has appealed her case against Chico Unified School District (CUSD), accusing it of inappropriate conduct and secrecy in a gender identity case.
Aurora Regino has argued that the district must out students who are trans or exploring their gender identity to their parents and that a federal judge denied her right as a parent to control the upbringing of her child. But a panel of Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges questioned whether Regino changed her case substantially – enough to send it back to the federal judge for reconsideration.
Center for American Liberty attorney Josh Dixon told the panel in the May 9 hearing that Regino wants parents to have “broad authority,” and claimed that the district’s policy is about “parental secrecy.”
Regino can appeal the previous ruling without revising her case, but at the May 9 hearing, the panel questioned whether she had an argument that would justify reconsideration.
CUSD argued in court May 9 that it follows state law in protecting the confidentiality of students seeking counseling, and that Regino’s argument’s focus seems to have “significantly narrowed.” The district said the oral argument was the first time the appellant narrowed the case to focus on the school’s accommodating of a student by using new pronouns.
Senior U.S. District Judge John Mendez -– who was appointed to the bench by former President George Bush — tossed Regino’s case last July, ruling that Chico Unified successfully identified legitimate government purposes for its nondisclosure policy protecting the rights of LGBTQ students to privacy, freedom from discrimination, and health and safety as guaranteed by federal and state statutes and Constitutional provisions. Students have a legally-protected privacy interest under the California Constitution with respect to information about their gender identity, Mendez said.
Justices Kim McLane Wardlaw, Morgan Christen and Mark Bennett presided this time over the case, which was first filed in January 2023 in federal court in the Eastern District of California. Regino alleges that a school counselor at Sierra View Elementary coaxed a student into adopting a male identity after the fifth-grader confided that they “felt like a boy.” She claims her child was encouraged to “socially transition” by adopting a new name and male pronouns, and that the school did not inform her.
Ahead of the appeal hearing May 9, multiple educators, experts and educational organizations filed to support Chico Unified in the appeal. Attorneys general from different states also filed, saying states have a compelling interest in ensuring a safe and supportive school environment.
California’s Department of Education (CDE) also said in a January filing that state law emphasizes the rights of LGBTQ students and requires the department and the state superintendent of public instruction to take action in supporting them.
Dixon told the panel May 9 that the state does not have the right to change school environments to support a student’s identity.
“Children are immature and make rash decisions and parents are assumed to be fit and act in their children’s best interests,” Dixon said. “The complaint plausibly alleges that social transitioning cuts deep into the fabric of the family driving a wedge between parents and children when children need it most.”
Dixon said his client’s position is not that the parent has to know if a child wants to change the name they are referred to by at school. He said the problem is when the school proactively creates an environment that “affirms” a child’s chosen pronouns.
“It is when the school goes further and creates the affirming environment for the child that the constitution is offended,” he said.
“There is no reasonable expectation of privacy that a child has in things that go on within the school, against their parents,” Dixon said. “The consequences of that would be horrific on the relationship between the parent and the child. Parents need to know what happens at school to direct their child.”
The district said in court filings that there are circumstances where disclosure to parents of what students tell counselors can lead to harm to students -– and the district has a legitimate state interest in protecting student privacy and creating a “zone of protection” from potential domestic violence.
One in 10 transgender individuals experience overt violence from a household member, and 15% are forced to leave their homes because of their identity, note earlier filings in the case.
CUSD attorney Jimmie Johnson told the panel that Regino’s claim that social transitioning is an “external treatment” was proven false in other lawsuits.
“Simply being transgender is not itself an ailment,” Johnson said. “And it’s not something the district is doing to the transgender person. What the district is doing is called accommodation.”
Johnson said a parent doesn’t have a “right to notification” about what a child tells a school counselor beyond what is established in state and federal law.
State officials also testified at the panel that the state does not consider pronoun choice a form of medical treatment.
The panel did not indicate when it may rule. It could affirm the federal judge’s decision, or order that the judge’s ruling was in error and remand the case for further consideration.
The lawsuit was the third in California filed by the right-wing Center for American Liberty which is headed by Harmeet Dhillon, formerly an adviser to President Donald Trump.
Natalie Hanson is a contributing editor to ChicoSol.
Anti-discrimination policy needed to protect LGBTQ student privacy, they say
by Natalie Hanson | Posted January 24, 2024
photo by Karen Laslo
CUSD offices
Educators and experts have joined California’s leaders in urging an appeals court to uphold a ruling that supports Chico Unified School District’s (CUSD’s) anti-discrimination policy.
California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta filed Jan. 9 in support of the district, along with representatives of 15 other states, arguing that the policy is designed to be flexible on a case-by-case basis to support transgender and gender-nonconforming students, and to withhold parental notice when a student does not consent. The only exception for parental notification, against a student’s wishes, is if the student’s well-being is at risk.
The statements of support came in response to an appeal filed by Chico parent Aurora Regino, who wants to overturn a federal judge’s decision last year rejecting her opposition to nondisclosure that is a product of the district’s broader anti-discrimination policy.
Regino says in her appeal, filed in October, that the federal judge denied her right as a parent to control the upbringing of her child, and to contest what she says was a school district that was able “to perform psychological treatment on her children behind her back.”
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is considering hearing arguments in Regino’s case in Pasadena. During the second week of January, state organizations and experts filed many amicus briefs to join in support of CUSD’s policy that protects student privacy. That policy recommends that school officials follow student wishes to disclose or not disclose sensitive conversations to parents, including about possible pronoun changes.
Regino’s case, if successful, would out students
Her lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of California, said her child told a school counselor they wanted to use new pronouns at school, and decided with the counselor’s guidance not to tell their mother right away. Regino claims it is her right as a parent to know why her child sought counseling.
The lawsuit was the third in California over gender identity filed by the right-wing Center for American Liberty, headed by Harmeet Dhillon, formerly an adviser to President Donald Trump. It came at a volatile moment nationally as conservatives fired up their base with attacks on transgender rights.
Last summer, Senior U.S. District Judge John Mendez -– who was appointed to the bench by former President George Bush — ruled that Chico Unified successfully identified legitimate government purposes for its nondisclosure policy and for protecting the rights of LGBTQ students to privacy, freedom from discrimination, and health and safety as guaranteed by federal and state statutes and constitutional provisions.
Students have a legally-protected privacy interest under the California Constitution with respect to information about their gender identity, the judge said. He added that Chico Unified’s policy is “not proactive, but reactive; district staff are not directed to force students to adopt transgender identities or keep their identities secret from their parents.”
The brief filed by the attorneys’ general offices, which included the states of Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Washington and New York, said CUSD’s policy is consistent with the state’s policy. That policy supports and protects transgender and gender nonconforming students, who are particularly “vulnerable to abuse, suicide and other concrete harms caused by familial rejection and environments hostile to their gender identity.”
The attorneys general said that states like California have a compelling interest in protecting students and ensuring a safe and supportive school environment, as 1 in 10 transgender individuals experience overt violence from a household member, and 15% are forced to leave their home because of their identity.
“Appellant’s interpretation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, which would require schools to ‘out’ students to their parents against the students’ wishes, could compromise students’ safety by increasing students’ vulnerability to harassment, violence, or other forms of abuse at school or at home,” the officials said.
California’s Department of Education (CDE) also said in a January filing that state law emphasizes the rights of LGBTQ students and requires the department and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to take action in supporting them. It said Regino’s request would require the court to establish a new fundamental constitutional right for a parent to be automatically informed of a student’s change in gender identity at school.
“However, courts must proceed with utmost care when considering establishing new substantive due process rights,” CDE said. “Parental rights are not absolute or unlimited. In summary, this case bears a much closer resemblance to cases involving parent challenges to curriculum and other public school policy decisions than to cases involving “care, custody or control” generally, or medical care specifically.”
The California Teachers Association as well as associations of school psychologists, nurses and counselors all filed in support as well. The organizations said Regino’s demands for an expanded due process right – to force disclosures to parents – would harm the trusting relationships that school staff have with students. They said educational professionals allow students to lead, and encourage them to engage their parents or guardians and share information with them about their gender identity “when it is psychologically and physically safe for students.”
“The Chico Unified School District policy in question appropriately supports a safe and inclusive learning environment, and plaintiff’s constitutional challenge to that policy fails,” the organizations said in their combined amicus brief. “Rather than intruding into a parent’s personal liberties, the district’s policy – which fully conforms with longstanding legal guidance from the California Department of Education – prevents the government from inserting itself into personal family matters. The policy respects student privacy rights under the California Constitution, and it allows family members to discuss gender identity on their own terms when they choose to do so.”
The organizations said they opposed Regino’s claims that social transitioning is a medical or psychological treatment, noting that students asking an adult to address them with a different name and pronoun is often an early step in exploring gender identity.
“Contrary to appellant’s gross mischaracterization of the district policy, educational professionals do not encourage or maintain ‘parental secrecy’ policies,’” they said. “Educational professionals recommend that as part of a process of supporting a student who ‘comes out’ to an educational professional or who seeks support in their gender identity, educational professionals should discuss with the student how and when they can safely come out to their parent or guardian.”
A number of psychologists and human development experts, such as the California Association of School Psychologists and the California Association of School Counselors, also filed. They assert the stance that requiring school personnel to tell parents about a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity without the student’s consent undermines their role as school professionals.
“School personnel are entrusted to rely on their expertise and professional judgment to provide that guidance; in fact, numerous states protect those conversations from disclosure to encourage students to seek the confidences of school personnel,” the psychologists said in their brief.
Regino says in her appeal: “Not only did the district court apply the wrong legal standard two times over, but it also ignored the complaint’s detailed factual allegations, the weight of case law — including case law from this court — and expert opinion reflecting the widely accepted consensus that social transitioning constitutes psychological treatment.”
Regino also filed a brief Jan. 9 responding to the district, arguing that she is entitled to the right to consent before the district “socially transitions” her children at their school.
“Ms. Regino does not seek to prove that social transitioning constitutes psychological treatment,” said Regino’s legal counsel, Dhillon. “Instead, she seeks only to support the conclusion that her allegation that social transitioning constitutes psychological treatment is plausible.”
Natalie Hanson is a contributing editor to ChicoSol.
Chico Unified parents who demand that their school district crafts stronger protections for students and faculty against hate speech say they are forming an anti-racism coalition.
Mele Benz is one of numerous parents in Chico who say they want children to have better protection from discrimination and hate speech. She is one of three parents who head the board of what is now the NorCal Anti-Racism Coalition, which represents about 100 family members and allies. It asks that Chico Unified School District (CUSD) demonstrate no tolerance for hate speech or discrimination on its campuses. (See sidebar on increased bullying in California schools here.)
Benz once worked as an administrator at Chico Unified and saw its inner workings. She also has two elementary school-aged kids in the district, and has been attending annual Local Control Accountability Plan meetings for years. The meetings are required by the state for the purpose of hearing concerns and ideas from families, and to consider ways to improve equity in local schools.
Those meetings drove Benz and other parents to demand that the district take their concerns, particularly about existing discrimination and threats, to heart. Parents’ stories at the meetings indicated that “People were feeling unwelcome, students were feeling singled out,” she said.
“One Black student from Chico High talked about reading ‘Of Mice and Men’ and feeling really alone in that experience, reading about violence toward Black people with a teacher she didn’t connect with and who had been unwelcome toward her,” Benz said.
She said she also heard stories about students directing racial slurs at teachers, who reported that some campuses have administrators who are better prepared to handle such incidents than others. Another parent told her that his child faces bullying at school and feels that administrators aren’t assisting the child. Benz said the district’s policy and training should be so clear that administrators should know exactly how to handle such situations.
“Families shouldn’t have to hold their children back from schools because the administrators are figuring it out and they don’t feel safe there,” Benz said. “Parents shouldn’t be wondering, ‘Do I have to take my kids to another school because they’re not keeping my child safe?’” she said.
Those revelations are why she and other parents are asking for a more unified response through revising the district’s anti-hate policy. Benz noted the controversies that exploded last year over the suspension of Joana Campos at Rosedale Elementary, when some parents demanded more multiculturalism and other parents protested the push for diversity education in schools.
She also noted the anti-LGBTQ sentiments expressed at school board meetings in Chico and nationwide. At the Oct. 4 CUSD board meeting, a grandparent, Loretta Torres, in explaining her view that the district should not maintain its policy that prevents school personnel from outing students, used the words “sexually dysphoric” and referred to a “transgender craze.”
These parents are repeating microaggressions or hate speech against LGBTQ children — which also should be addressed under a stronger anti-discrimination policy, Benz said.
“Civil rights protections are fundamental rights on the books in our law, in our board policies, as they stand and they are being ignored,” Benz said. “I perceive that people think there are two sides to this argument, and both sides are equally valid, and to that I say no. Harm is happening to our kids of color, and that relates to their civil rights — their right to education, to be in school. It feels as though a blind eye is being turned.”
Another Chico parent, Dominique Silva Soares, who is Chico State Educational Opportunity Program advisor, said some parents who grew up in the district are watching their children suffer the same experiences they did, from microaggressions to blatant hate speech.
She said her Black sons have heard racist insults from people in Chico since before they entered school, and she removed one son from an elementary school due to what she called “racist behavior” from a teacher and tension in the classroom around teaching Black history.
“No one has done anything to change the racist culture that exists in Chico Unified at all,” Soares said.
“It’s so easy for schools to put up signs like ‘no bullying’ and ‘no sexual harassment,’ but nobody ever calls out racism. Nobody ever puts up a sign saying ‘We have zero tolerance of racism.’ Everyone is scared to do that. Why is everybody afraid of this word?”
Soares said that the hesitancy to call hate speech what it is leaves children of color unsafe on campuses and affects their education. Black and Latino students have lower math and reading scores and are suspended more often than White students, according to the district’s periodic data reports.
“I think they’re afraid of the pushback,” she said. “They’re trying to walk a fine line to appease the people of color and racists. I think it’s another tactic of checking the box.”
The founders of the coalition took the stories they had been hearing from parents like Soares and crafted a “dream statement” for the district, outlining what they hoped to see in five years if the district made changes to ensure that families and students of color could thrive. This includes strengthening existing policies designed to prevent discrimination.
“What we’re specifically asking for is for the board to, in the policy, articulate the varying levels of hate-motivated behavior from micro-aggression to hate crime and everything that comes in between,” Benz said. “And, to clarify for staff and faculty for how they respond, with evidence-based preventative measures, using the examples of other school districts which have revamped their hate prevention policies or created new ones.”
One of the coalition’s goals is to hear from more students, and either uplift them or speak on their behalf.
“We know the district isn’t doing enough of that yet, and we see ourselves as both collaborators with the district, and watchdogs as well,” Benz said.
The coalition’s letter of recommendations went to Chico Unified’s school board members and Superintendent Kelly Staley. It states, among other things, that, “In reviewing Districts’ policies throughout the state, we see inclusion of evidence-based prevention strategies such as restorative practices and anti-bias training.”
Benz said that district leaders arranged a meeting between the parents, administrators and board President Caitlyn Dalby and Vice President Elieen Robinson to discuss the recommendations. Benz said she did not hear administrators at that meeting commit to making any tangible changes.
“We feel like we keep hearing the same kinds of responses,” Benz said. “There’s some avoidance, some excuses. We’ll hear, ‘We do great work and you guys just don’t know what we’re doing.’”
Staley’s communications officer Erica Smith said the district is working on equitable community engagement between teachers, administrators and families.
“Collaboration is happening at all levels of the school district, and we are excited to see the communication exchange and input leading to positive shifts within our district,” Smith told ChicoSol in an email. “While we are making great strides, there is more work to be done and we sincerely value our student, parent and community input.”
Chico Unified school board member Tom Lando told ChicoSol that he thinks the coalition’s recommendations are important, but are already addressed by the existing non-discrimination policy. The existing policy is brief and generally defines discrimination, but does not suggest specific consequences for hate speech or discrimination.
“We can always do better in training our staff to support students of all needs and from all backgrounds, though by and large they do a fantastic job,” he told ChicoSol. “If there are specific cases in which our current policy and practices aren’t supporting students, I hope that anyone would bring that to the attention of the board.”
The letter of recommendations has not yet been scheduled for a school board meeting agenda as no school board member has moved to request that discussion. The school board listened without response to parents during public comment at the Oct. 18 meeting. Several parents said they want to see a clear commitment to preventing racism and discrimination and to protect children of color.
Chico State instructor Christine Leistner accused the district of having a policy of waiting to respond to bullying until a bullying victim lashes back at the perpetrators, and then punishing the victim.
“We need a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech,” Leistner said. “Any child on any campus who uses racial hate speech should be suspended. I don’t care if their family is a good family or a decent family, it’s embarrassing that the smaller districts with fewer resources can handle this better than we can.”
Student Ida P., a fourth-grader at Rosedale Elementary, said that she hears kids make fun of Japanese features and language and repeat racial slurs. She said that she has never heard faculty discuss anti-racism, and wants to see it defined and provided.
“Many kids don’t know what racism is, and don’t know the impact their words have on their classmates,” she said. “I want schools to be a safe place for everyone, especially the BIPOC students who seem to be the butt of these jokes. I know I’m just a kid, but I hope you prioritize this and put it on your next agenda.”
Natalie Hanson is a contributing writer to ChicoSol.
Schools can't be forced to out trans children, Mendez says
by Natalie Hanson | Posted July 15, 2023
U.S. Senior Eastern District Judge John Mendez
A federal judge has dismissed a Chico parent’s claim against Chico Unified School District (CUSD) over maintaining confidentiality rights for students.
Chico mother Aurora Regino’s lawsuit, which claims that the district must out students who are trans or exploring their gender identity, has been tossed out of federal court. CUSD had argued that it follows state law in protecting the confidentiality of students seeking counseling.
Filed Jan. 6 in federal court in the Eastern District of California, Regino’s case alleges that a school counselor at Sierra View Elementary coaxed a student into adopting a male identity after the fifth-grader confided that they “felt like a boy.” Regino claims her child was encouraged to “socially transition” by adopting a new name and male pronouns. The school did not inform her, and the child later reverted to identifying as female.
The lawsuit named as defendants the Board of Education and CUSD Superintendent Kelly Staley. It demands removal of the “Parental Secrecy Policy,” which Staley says doesn’t exist.
The lawsuit was the third in California filed by the right-wing Center for American Liberty over gender identity. The Center is headed by Harmeet Dhillon, formerly an adviser to President Donald Trump. It came at a volatile moment nationally as conservatives fire up their base with attacks on transgender rights.
“This court is not the venue for this political debate” — Judge John Mendez
Senior U.S. District Judge John Mendez -– who was appointed to the bench by former President George Bush — said the district policy in question is not proactive, but reactive, that district staff are not directed to force students to adopt transgender identities or keep their identities secret from their parents. Staff must affirm a student’s expressed identity and pronouns and tell only those whom students want to be told, with an exception for the student’s health.
He said that because federal courts possess limited jurisdiction “that have not been vested with open-ended lawmaking powers,” the state Legislature is a better venue for Regino’s complaint.
“This court is not the venue for this political debate,” he said.
(The Trans Legislation Tracker says 561 bills in 49 states have been introduced that would “block trans people from receiving basic healthcare, education, legal recognition, and the right to publicly exist.”)
The case quickly led to debate and turmoil at school board meetings, as some parents insisted the district was maintaining what they called a “parental secrecy policy.” Speakers at meetings debated whether children have a right to privacy that must be honored when gender identity is discussed. Some parents told ChicoSol that many of the public comments made their LGBTQ children uncomfortable.
A group that supports Regino’s suit, Chico Parents -– which has a Facebook group page -– wrote a resolution asking for families to have more control. The CUSD board majority, presented with the resolution, voted no after debate at a spring meeting.
In a 20-page order, Judge Mendez dealt the case a death blow, saying that Regino failed to claim facts that support her substantive due process claim. Substantive due process questions whether the government deprives a person’s rights to life, liberty or property, and if so, if it is justified by a strong purpose.
The district said in court filings that there are circumstances where disclosure to parents of what students tell counselors can lead to harm to students -– and the district has a legitimate state interest in protecting students’ privacy and creating a “zone of protection” from potential domestic violence. Staley’s legal counsel held a presentation at a recent board meeting to go over the policy so that parents would better understand how it is written under the state Department of Education’s anti-discrimination policy.
Regino had claimed that the district’s policy violates her substantive due process rights to make medical decisions for her children that go to the heart of parental decision making, and social transitioning is a significant form of psychological treatment.
But Mendez said Regino was advocating to expand her parental rights.
“None of the cases cited by plaintiff opine on whether the state has an affirmative duty to inform parents of their child’s transgender identity nor whether the state must obtain parental consent before referring to a transgender child by their preferred name and pronouns,” the judge wrote. “Also, while plaintiff alleges that the regulation permits social transitioning at school and this constitutes medical treatment, this allegation is conclusory and, thus, insufficient to raise plaintiff’s right to relief under substantive due process above the speculative level.”
“The issue before this court is not whether it is a good idea for school districts to notify parents of a minor’s gender identity and receive consent before using alternative names and pronouns, but whether the United States Constitution mandates such parental authority. This court holds that it does not.”
Mendez also said that Regino had no proof that a policy forbidding disclosure of a student’s gender identity without their consent “constitutes unwarranted interference in the parent-child relationship.”
“To the contrary, in the context of the instant case, the regulation refrains from
interfering with the established parent-child relationship by allowing students to disclose their gender identity to their parents on their own terms,” Mendez said.
The case has been closed, as the judge said he thinks allowing amendment of Regino’s claims would be “futile” since there are no facts that can be disputed or added to help Regino’s claims advance.
Regino and her lawyers did not respond to requests for comment before this story was posted. The Center for American Liberty’s website hadn’t posted the judge’s order as of July 15.
“We know there are differing viewpoints as it pertains to this case,” CUSD said in a statement to ChicoSol. “Chico Unified appreciates the patience of our community as we worked through the legal process. More importantly, the resolution of this case allows Chico Unified to maintain our focus and financial resources on the education and support of the students in the Chico Unified School District.”
ChicoSol invited CUSD board members to comment.
“The district was not doing anything close to what was being alleged, said Caitlin Dalby, president at large. “I hope this demonstrates to our community that the district maintains its commitment to respect all students, including our transgender students, and (their) right to privacy and that we’ve done the right thing in upholding our anti-discrimination policies.”
Trustee Tom Lando said he wanted to comment as a parent rather than as a member of the board.
“This dismissal protects the rights of vulnerable transgender students, and rebuffs another attack on public education by right wing political organizations,” Lando said. “It amazes me that no one talks about the fact that the suit was led by Harmeet Dhillon, a high-ranking Republican operative who makes a good chunk of money from Fox News by being professionally outraged about these issues. It’s frustrating to see outside interests cause division in Chico for their own gain.”
The American Civil Liberties Union’s Northern California chapter, which joined the lawsuit, said in a statement online that the case is a win for children and their families, including nonbinary and trans children.
“Many California parents support their children for who they are and favor policies that allow students to be themselves on campus and give schools the flexibility to help students work towards family acceptance when needed,” said Jennifer Chou, staff attorney.
Natalie Hanson is a contributing writer to ChicoSol.
