Follow This Simple Strategy to OPT-OUT of LAUSD’s Coming Out Day Curriculum
You do not have to be an attorney to assert your rights over your child’s education!
Are you concerned you will be blocked from excluding your child from the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Coming Out Day curriculum or a similar gender identity curriculum? Your mindset and strategy are everything when going into this battle: you don’t have to prove your case to them — they have to prove their case to you.
Projects such as “Identity Maps” and “Pledges of Allyship” are NOT required by the California Education Code. The school district will not be able to provide direct legal support for requirement of the specific activities and projects as outlined in LAUSD’s curriculum. State law does not provide that level of granularity.
This straightforward and detached method allows you to respectfully take control over the situation and effectively force your school district officials toward one of three outcomes:
- To unequivocally agree to your demands in writing,
- To unequivocally state their basis for denying your demand to opt-out your child, and to document their reasons in writing, or
- To not respond at all.
Use Your Parental Rights!
You should not have to be an attorney to assert your rights in good faith over your child’s education! As a parent, you have the right to advocate for your child’s and your family’s interests, without having to learn the entirety of applicable legal code citations. Don’t allow this to be an obstacle to your advocacy.
Strategy and Steps:
- Take a respectful and logical approach throughout the process. Do not allow yourself to become emotional, confrontational or discuss your opinions on the subject matter. Do not stray from the matter-of-fact task of excluding your child from the specific curriculum.
- Complete and sign the OPT-OUT letter template we provide or a similar written document which demands a response and confirmation in writing.
- Email the letter to your school’s principal. Copy (as a “cc” in your email system) your elected Board of Education trustee, the entire Board of Education, and your district’s superintendent.
- If you do not have access to email, and if you have sufficient time, send the letter through USPS Certified Mail or other delivery service which provides proof of delivery. Retain a copy of the letter and proof of delivery in your records.
- If you do not have access to email and time is of the essence, walk two signed copies of your letter into your school’s main office, and request a time/date stamp receipt on your copy. Be firm on this time/date stamp confirmation request and do not take “no” for an answer.
- DO NOT engage in any verbal discussion regarding your request with ANY district employees (such as discussions on the curriculum content, explanations of what the planned curriculum will cover, requests for you to support your opt-out demand further, etc.). If you have direct in-person or telephone contact with any district employee, and they broach the subject, remind them politely and succinctly that you will only engage in this discussion in writing.
- DO NOT fall into the trap of discussing, verbally or in writing, your legal support or any other rationale for your OPT-OUT demand. The whole purpose of this process is to force them to tell you WHY NOT in writing. Remind them politely and succinctly that they respond in writing to your original OPT-OUT demand letter.
- If you do not receive a response in a timely manner, you can conclude the district is effectively denying your request, since they did not follow your demand for a written confirmation.
- If they respond in writing and deny your OPT-OUT demand, ensure they state the specific citations of law they are using as support for their denial (for example: “California Education Code Section 51513”). Do not accept general citations, such as the “FAIR Education Act” (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, Respectful), or “AB 1078”. If the code citations are not clearly stated, respond using the same process in writing and request the specific Education Code Section citations they are using to support their denial. Again, this is the whole point of this strategy: to force them to tell you WHY NOT in writing.
- If you receive a denial, with your documented proof of their denial in hand you have just begun your advocacy efforts.
Why This Methodology Is So Important
This methodology requires your school and district to take a careful approach to your demand, with the knowledge that you will have documented proof of your request and their response. Your school and district administrators will likely send your request up their chain of command to obtain a set of marching orders before they act. There can be legal consequences to the district from their actions, and their legal counsel will provide their staff with guidance. In this manner, your actions will force the issue to be addressed at higher levels within their bureaucracy.
At the Los Angeles Unified School District, parents who advocate for their children in a forceful or emotional manner are sometimes issued a formal “Disruptive Person Letter” or a formal written warning. The formal letter may be issued at the discretion of the principal and restricts a parent’s future access to the school campus without a prior appointment. This process is effectively used to limit parental free speech and to rid the principal of inconvenient parent voices which they can categorize as a disruption.
These instances will increase if the SB 596: School Employees: Protection legislation is approved by Governor Newsom.
Don’t Silence Yourself
Silence is acquiescence. If you review LAUSD’s curriculum and find it objectionable to your family and to your values, SPEAK UP. No one else is going to do this for you. Don’t be afraid to go on the record with your disagreement. Start now. There is a long road ahead.
Our California public schools are funded by our tax dollars. We all pay for their services when we are taxed as consumers of goods and services every single day, even those individuals who don’t pay income taxes.
Take back control of your schools. Schools belong to our communities, not to the bureaucrats. School administrators work for you!
For additional information and the template letter in Spanish visit:
Important Disclosure:
The above article is for informational purposes only and must not to be relied upon as legal advice. The author is not an attorney. Any parent or guardian should consult with his or her independent advisors as to legal or other matters relevant to the suitability of all or any part of the information presented above.
© 2023 Upp Gloggen, Inc.
