Protesters urge Elk Grove school district not to honor Transgender Day of Visibility
A small group of protesters gathered at an Elk Grove Unified School District meeting Tuesday to urge the board to reject a resolution to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility. The protesters were led by Beth Bourne, one of the most prominent anti-trans activists in the state. Bourne is the chair of the Yolo County’s chapter of Moms for Liberty, a nonprofit that describes itself as advocating for parental rights.
“If you’re telling children transgender children need to be visible, we need to celebrate them — you’re saying they exist,” Bourne said, arguing that public schools should not discuss this topic. T
he Elk Grove school board’s resolution honoring Transgender Day of Visibility read that the district is “committed to standing up against discrimination of all students, including the transgender community, to be visible and live their authentic lives.” The day, celebrated internationally on March 31, was created in 2009 to “celebrate the lives and contributions of transgender people, while also drawing attention to the poverty, discrimination and violence the community faces,” said Cory Jones, who read the resolution to the board.
The board approved the resolution 6-1.
The protest comes a day after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary ruling that California teachers are no longer barred from telling parents that their child is experiencing gender dysphoria or transitioning at school. The emergency appeal blocks the state law instituting the ban for now, with the court saying it could take years for the case to be decided on appeal.
Bourne praised the Supreme Court’s decision, saying parents should be brought into any conversation about their child and that teachers should not be encouraged to keep secrets with students. Protesters like Kirk Thompson and Daniel Russell also argued that the district could lose federal funding or be sued, costing taxpayers money.
Bourne said she opposed the Elk Grove school board’s resolution because it was the first step in a pathway to what she called “medicalization,” referring to the gender-affirming medical care a transgender person may choose to receive, including taking hormones and undergoing surgeries like mastectomies.
Activist Layla Jane, 21, protests alongside Daniel Russell and other anti-trans demonstrators outside the Elk Grove Unified School District offices on Tuesday. JOSÉ LUIS VILLEGAS [email protected]
One protester, Layla Jane, identified herself as a “detransitioner.” She said she socially transitioned at an area school, where the school did not inform her parents. After she came out as transgender to her parents, she began taking testosterone at the age of 12 and had surgery at the age of 13 to remove her breasts at Kaiser Permanente.
Jane, 21, said she detransitioned at the age of 17, saying she realized gender dysphoria was not the cause of issues she experienced but rather other underlying mental health and body image issues.
Jane filed a civil lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente and her doctors in 2023, citing medical negligence. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2024. Jane said it was because her insurance arbitrator, required by her insurance, ruled that the statute of limitations in California for medical malpractice was three years since the date of injury, and she did not file the suit in time, until after she detransitioned.
Jane said she opposed the resolution because she felt it was encouraging children to “go down the same pathway” that she did.
“My parents were gaslit into believing that if they didn’t transition me, that I would commit suicide,” Jane said. “My mental health only got worse as I transitioned. As a result, my life is never going to be normal.”
A 2020 brief by The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ youth, cited studies that young transgender people who take hormones have reduced rates of suicidal thoughts as well as behavioral and emotional problems. Additionally, the brief claims “regret is low for gender-affirming care interventions.”
The sole vote against the resolution was trustee Heidi Moore, who represents northeast Elk Grove, as well as areas of Wilton, Rancho Cordova and unincorporated Sacramento County. She said the resolution was redundant, since the district already recognizes Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community, and called for a “Detransitioners Day of Visibility.”
The protesters expressed their support for Moore, calling her “courageous” and “the only voice of reason” on the board.
Moore has repeatedly expressed anti-transgender sentiments at board meetings. In September, Moore introduced a resolution to ban transgender students from participating in girls’ school sports, arguing it would reinforce federal protections for female athletes under Title IX. The board voted 7-1 to stop future discussion of the proposal.
At a meeting last month, Moore spoke against allowing transgender students to participate in girls’ sports. She said that it was a regression in progress for women’s rights “under the guise of being progressive” and argued that it was unfair and unsafe for transgender girls to compete against cisgender girls.
Michael Vargas, a trustee who represents area 2 including Elk Grove High School and Monterey Trail High School, said in an interview with The Bee that this is not the first year the board has recognized Transgender Day of Visibility and that he helped to introduce the original resolution. He said his personal opinion is that it is important to address the unique needs of students and to surface what students may be experiencing in order to serve them properly.
“I think it’s always been the mandate of educators that we set aside our personal views, beliefs and prejudices and meet students where they are in their journey of development,” Vargas said. “It’s about illuminating those students and families that need our attention at this crucial moment in their lives.”