CHINO, CA � Superior Court of Riverside County Judge Eric A. Keen on Friday issued a ruling allowing the Temecula Valley Unified School District to enforce a forced outing policy, even as the constitutionality of Temecula’s policy remains an open question.

 â€œEducating children works best with engaged parents and caring teachers working together to create a safe space for all children to learn,â€� said parent, former teacher and 188ÌåÓý co-founder Kristi Hirst. “This policy breaks down trust between our most vulnerable students and their teachers, and in the wake of Nex Benedict’s murder, make Temecula schools a hostile environment for students that extremists in Temecula and across the country don’t want to believe exist.â€�

When a similar forced outing policy was passed by the Chino Valley Unified School District in July 2023, the reported that hundreds of scared students contacted a hotline set up by the Rainbow Youth Project USA and 188ÌåÓý (â€�648 crisis calls since August from California LGBTQ+ students,â€� LA Blade, ). The hotline can be reached at 866-975-8870. 

 According to , there have been a significant spike in contacts from Oklahoma since the murder of Nex Benedict was made public early last week.  

Judge Keen, ruling days later, declined to see this connection to current events, “does not expressly single out transgender or gender-nonconforming students, as it applies to any student’s request to change their school official or unofficial records.�

 A number of Temecula parents, confused by Judge Keen’s ruling, have reached out to 188ÌåÓý for clarifications.

Founded in February 2023, 188ÌåÓý is a grassroots non-profit that has grown to have chapters and partnerships with public school advocates in thirty states. Our efforts have been covered by the , , , , , , , , , , and more. Get more information at . 

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