I stepped into the FUHS journalism classroom for the first time last year as an eager sophomore determined to write important articles that would change the game. Naturally, the first story I took on was about an important issue: transgender rights.
It started with AP Psychology being effectively banned in Florida due to a section on gender and sexuality. Then we caught wind of a trend in California school boards to pass a parental notification policy (which would force educators to out trans students), so we changed our focus. Then, after a full year of being unable to write anything publishable, Trump got elected and passed a flurry of anti-trans executive orders, so we changed our focus again. This went on for 18 months. I was the primary researcher for all this.
I started out naively thinking I would be able to write a good, comprehensive story summing up the issue, and be able to research everything with unwavering passion and interest. But as the story kept getting bigger, as I kept seeing headline after headline about trans people losing more and more rights (especially after the election), I got tired and pessimistic. What once felt like a thought-stimulating research project that could educate my classmates was now just a source of resentment. Each new development stopped feeling tragic and more like another predictable, terrible thing happening to add to the long list of terrible things.
And if that’s how I felt as a cis girl merely researching the topic, I can’t even imagine how actual trans people felt.
Luckily, Tribe Tribune editor Sofia Matin wrote an incredible article that covers the experiences of various trans people at FUHS, sharing their stories and how they’re grappling with everything the Trump administration is doing.
She was unable to include every single thing we researched over the 18 months. If she did, it would be an absolute behemoth of an article. But I felt like we shouldn’t just let all of that go unpublished.
People need to realize everything trans people have been going through. They need to see the sheer quantity of anti-trans legislation that keeps being passed across the country. They need to understand how overwhelming it all is.
I can’t write a comprehensive article that does that. So I made a list instead.
I’ve compiled all of the sources that were used into a timeline format, so you can see for yourself all that has happened since we started this story 18 months ago. Even if you don’t read each link, you can scroll through and see just how long it is.
Keep in mind that this is all the research done by (mostly) one person covering a very limited period of time. This isn’t likely even half of the full picture of the last 18 months, let alone of the general history of this type of stuff. I encourage you to do your own research about the plight of transgender people to get an even more informed view on the issue.
CVUSD Passes First Parental Notification Policy – July 20, 2023 (KTLA)
Chino Valley Unified School District passed a parental notification policy that requires educators to notify parents if a student requests to use a different name, pronoun, or bathroom that doesn’t align with their birth sex. This will go on to inspire many other parental notification policies.
AP Psych Effective Florida Ban – Aug. 3, 2023 (College Board statement)
Florida’s Department of Education found the content in AP Psychology surrounding gender and sexuality illegal under state law (presumably the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill passed in 2022). College Board refused to change course content, forcing AP Psych into a sort of limbo in Florida, where it’ll either violate state law or fail to meet AP requirements.
Bonta Sues CVUSD for it’s Parental Notification Policy – Aug. 28, 2023 (Rob Bonta)
Attorney General Rob Bonta sues CVUSD for their parental notification policy, saying that it violates the California Constitution and state laws protecting civil rights.
Bonta Wins CVUSD Lawsuit – Sept 6, 2023 (Rob Bonta)
San Bernardino Superior Court ruled against CVUSD, issuing a temporary restraining order so they can’t enforce the parental notification policy. This doesn’t stop parental notification policies from being passed in other school districts, but the wording of them becomes more vague.
Trans Teen Unable to Play Theater Role in Texas – Nov 10, 2023 (the Guardian)
Max Hightower of Sherman High School in Texas was cast as the male lead in Oklahoma The Musical but had the role taken away because of a school policy saying students can only portray characters who align with their birth sex.
Another School District Gets Sued for Parental Notification Policy – April 10, 2024 (Liberty Justice Center)
Rocklin Unified School District gets a writ of mandate from the California Department of Education saying that their parental notification policy (based on the one CVUSD passed) discriminates against students.
Newsom Signs SAFETY Act – July 15, 2024 (California Legislation)
The SAFETY Act made the previous parental notification policies illegal, as school districts and administrators can no longer require educators to disclose information regarding a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity with teachers.
CVUSD Sues Newsom Because of SAFETY Act – July 16, 2024 (Liberty Justice Center)
Chino Valley Unified School District filed a lawsuit to challenge the SAFETY Act. It appears to be ongoing.
Huntington Beach Sues California Because of SAFETY Act – Sept. 17, 2024 (LA Times)
Huntington Beach filed a lawsuit to try and block the SAFETY Act. It also appears to be ongoing.
Republican Pushes to Ban Trans Women from Capitol’s Women Bathrooms – Nov. 19, 2024 (CNN)
South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace introduced a resolution to ban transgender women from the women’s bathrooms in the US Capitol.
Ohio Governor Limits Trans Bathroom Use – Nov. 27, 2024 (Politico)
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a bill banning tansgender students from kindergarten through college from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
House Denies Trans Health Coverage to Military – Dec. 11, 2024 (NY Times)
The House passed a defense policy bill with a provision that would bar the military’s healthcare plan from covering gender affirming care.
House Restricts Trans Athletes from Women’s Sports – Jan. 14, 2025 (Politico)
HR 28 is passed. It bans trans women from competing in women’s sports and amends Title IX (which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education) to say that sex is based on reproductive biology.
Trump Only Recognizes Two Sexes – Jan. 20, 2025 (White House)
On his first day in office, Trump passed an executive order only recognizing male and female as two sexes and claims that gender identity “does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex.”
Executive Order Against Gender-Affirming Care for Minors – Jan. 28, 2025 (The White House)
Trump signed an executive order that will defund any institution that provides what he deems as “chemical and surgical mutilation of children”, or gender-affirming care for people under the age of 19.
California Hospital Briefly Paused Gender-Affirming Care for Minors Amid Executive Order Confusion – Feb. 5, 2025 (Rob Bonta)
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles paused initiating hormonal therapies for people under the age of 19. Attorney General Rob Bonta had to issue a statement that California state law has not changed, so there must be equal access to healthcare services.
Newsom Opposes Trans Athletes – March 6, 2025 (AP News)
Newsom expressed his feelings against trans women competing in women’s sports on his new podcast, breaking from other progressives.
Trans Women Transferred to Men’s Prisons – March 7, 2025 (The Guardian)
Despite court rulings against it, Trump’s executive order caused trans women to be transferred to men’s prisons, where they reported to be forced to hand over underwear, groped and harassed.
Trump Freezes Federal Funding to UPenn Because of Trans Athletes – March 20, 2025 (NPR)
After UPenn’s Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, won three swimming events in Ivy League championships, Trump freezed $175 million of federal funding.
Federal Officials Start Investigating SAFETY Act – March 27, 2025 (Politico)
The U.S. Department of Education began investigating the SAFETY Act because of concerns that it enable social transitioning at school while hiding it from parents. It could lead to the Trump administration pulling federal funding.
Two California Bills that Would’ve Barred Trans Athletes from Female Sports are Blocked – April 1, 2025 (KCRA)
California Democrats block Assembly Bills 89 and 844 from being passed. AB 89 would’ve banned CIF athletes who were assigned male at birth from playing in female divisions and AB 844 would’ve done the same for school sports.
UK Supreme Court Rules that Trans Women Aren’t Legally Women – April 16, 2024 (NYT)
The British Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Equality Act 2010, an extensive anti-discrimination law, defines women based on birth sex. Transgender people still have protection under other parts of the Equality Act.
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