Defending Education says San Diego Unified’s "Equity & Belonging" resources include a name-and-gender change form that allows students to update their identity at school without automatic parental notification and to choose how widely the change is recorded. The hub also features a slideshow listing 28 sexual orientations and nine gender identities and provides staff guidance for responding to parental objections. The watchdog criticized the materials as advocacy-oriented and questioned the district’s reliance on Title IX guidance that had been vacated nationally.
San Diego Unified Allows Students To Change Name And Gender At School Without Parental Notice, Watchdog Says
San Diego Unified School District’s "Equity and Belonging" website includes resources that include a name and gender change form for students.
A recent report from education watchdog Defending Education criticizes the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) for providing resources that let students update their name and gender identity at school without automatically notifying parents or guardians.
What The District Website Shows
SDUSD’s "Equity & Belonging" web hub includes a "SDUSD Name & Gender Change Form" that states students have a right to privacy and may "keep private their transgender status or gender nonconforming presentation at school." The form requests the student’s legal name, SDUSD identification number and the student’s legal sex before asking for the student’s preferred name, pronouns and whether parents or guardians are supportive.
Another document, Responding to Resistance (LGBT+ Guide), on the "Resources" page tells parents how they should handle questions about gay people that conflict with their faith.
The form then offers two options for how the new identity will be recorded: one option limits the change to teacher and substitute rosters only; the other expands the change to rosters, report cards, school mailings and diplomas.
Additional Materials On The Hub
On a "Youth Advocacy" page, a slideshow titled "LGBTQIA+ Terminology" lists a wide range of identities—28 sexual orientations and nine gender identities—including terms such as transgender, cisgender female, non-binary, demigirl, demiboy, genderfluid and "third gender." The materials define a demigirl/demiboy as someone who partially identifies as a girl/woman or boy/man, and describe "third gender" as an identity outside the binary.
San Diego Unified's form gives students the option to keep changes from appearing on report cards and school mailings.
Another district document, "Responding to Resistance (LGBT+ Guide)," offers sample responses for staff when parents object, including for objections rooted in religious beliefs. The guide argues that educators must ensure "ALL students feel welcomed and affirmed" and that their role is not to change family religious beliefs but to protect vulnerable students.
Policies And Enforcement
The guide also notes that an educator who refuses to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns could face disciplinary action under district policy. SDUSD’s stated nondiscrimination policy says the district is committed to equal opportunity and lists numerous protected characteristics, including gender, gender expression and gender identity.
Defending Education told Fox News Digital that SDUSD’s "Equity & Belonging" hub reads "less like a resource for families and more like a political playbook" and criticized the district for promoting extensive identity labels and treating concerned parents as "resistance." The group also questioned SDUSD’s citation of Title IX requirements, noting that a 2024 Title IX rewrite had been vacated nationwide.
Fox News Digital reached out to San Diego Unified School District for comment.
