CHINO â€� Thursday at 10 AM, a hearing in California Superior Court will be held on the forced student outing policy first passed by the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) on July 20, 2023. The lawsuit, The People of the State of California, Ex Rel. et al -v- Chino Valley Unified School District (), was introduced by and was . 

Kristi Hirst, a former teacher and current parent of students in CVUSD’s school district, was one of the first individuals to provide AG Bonta with signed declaration to support the lawsuit filed to prevent the forced outing policy to take effect.

In her declaration, Hirst, who co-founded 188ÌåÓý, a national grassroots non-profit organization to combat school board extremism, provided a firsthand account from a trans student in Chino Valley who did not wish to otherwise be identified. The student’s story was also read aloud at the CVUSD board meeting on July 20 before the policy was originally passed. You can watch Karen Reyes, an intervention counselor at Don Lugo High School in CVUSD, that starts at the 1:50:22 mark of the full July 20 CVUSD board meeting.

On October 4, a objecting to Hirst’s declaration due to “improper opinion testimony,� “speculative,� “lacks foundation,� “improper legal conclusion,� a “secondary evidence rule,� and “lacks personal knowledge.�

Through her work with 188ÌåÓý, Hirst has heard directly from dozens of students, parents and teachers opposed to the forced outing policy and the harm its implementation will cause and has shared them publicly. At CVUSD’s last board meeting on October 5, Hirst read a compilation of complaints she received and submitted to the board. You can watch that starts at the 34:25 mark of the .

While CVUSD Board President, Sonja Shaw, previously stated that the Liberty Justice Center would be handling the case pro-bono at no cost to the district, the joint objection filing makes clear that Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo are also working on the case. As of July 20, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo had been paid $272,215.97 by CVUSD for legal services in 2022-2023, . The law firm also has an listing five partners and one associate as the attorneys on the case. Moreover, also is actively soliciting funds with a portal linked to the Liberty Justice Center as the first item listed under “announcements.�

“Educating children works best with engaged parents and caring teachers working together to create a safe space for all children to learn,� said Hirst. “It’s no surprise the CVUSD school board would use the tax dollars my family contributes to this community to question the validity of the harm they are knowingly inviting upon our most vulnerable students. The only people lacking personal knowledge of the harm their forced outing policy will cause, and has caused, in communities throughout California, are the CVUSD board members who continue ignore what they don’t want to hear.�