A California parental rights group recently filed a lawsuit against state Attorney General Rob Bonta, claiming he has attempted to undermine its proposed parental notification ballot petition.
The group, called Protect Kids California, submitted a ballot measure in September called the “Protect Kids of California Act of 2024,” which would ask the state’s voters if schools must notify parents if their child identifies as transgender.
As part of his duties as attorney general, Mr. Bonta is required to provide a neutral and accurate title and summary for the ballot measure.
In November, Mr. Bonta re-titled it as the “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth Initiative,” which the group claimed in a Feb. 13 press release is “a highly biased, factually inaccurate and misleading title and summary that has prejudiced the initiative.”
Mr. Bonta also changed part of the ballot summary, adding that the parent notification rule would inform parents of their child’s transition “without exception for student safety,” and that it “prohibits gender-affirming healthcare” for children under 18.
A minimum of 50,000 verified voters’ signatures is required within 180 days to place the issue on the November 2024 ballot.
After announcing plans for a lawsuit last month, the group sued Mr. Bonta on Feb. 13, claiming in its press release that he failed “to uphold his duty to Californians and [violated] the law when he provided a factually inaccurate, misleading, and biased title to a proposed ballot initiative by Protect Kids California rather than a neutral title and summary as required under California law.”
The group’s suit requests Mr. Bonta rescind the current title and summary of Protect Kids California’s ballot initiative and provide a neutral title and summary instead.
It additionally is asking the court demand that the 180 days to collect signatures be restarted because the group cannot collect signatures for the ballot initiative with what it called a misleading title and description.
Mr. Bonta sued the Chino Valley Unified School District in August over its parent notification policy, which also requires schools notify parents if their child wishes to identify as transgender.
A spokesperson for Mr. Bonta’s office told The Epoch Times that the office could not comment on ongoing litigation but said “we take this responsibility seriously and stand by our title and summary for this measure.”
