Yesterday, the Department of Justice launched a review of San Francisco Unified School District and three districts in Monterey County.
The review, announced by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, targets the Graves Elementary School District, Santa Rita Union School District and Soledad Unified School District along with SFUSD.
Federal officials said their goal is to determine whether parents are being properly informed about lessons involving sexual orientation and gender identity and whether they are being told about their rights to opt their children out of certain instruction.
The DOJ said it will also look at policies about access to bathrooms, locker rooms, and girls' sports teams.
The review also will examine what steps, if any, the school districts have taken in response to recent court decisions involving parental rights and school policies.
DOJ officials emphasized that the Civil Rights Division has not reached any conclusions about the districts or the issues under review.
This comes amid a growing national debate over parental rights, school curriculum and policies involving sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools. California law requires public schools that provide comprehensive sexual health education to include information about sexual orientation and gender identity. State law also generally requires schools to notify parents when sex education is being taught and allows parents to opt their children out of that instruction.
On Wednesday, SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su will answer questions from the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Su is expected to face questions about parental rights, inappropriate classroom content and the indoctrination of children.
