SCUSD Student Board Member Liam McGurk, center, helps raise the transgender flag outside the Serna Center in Sacramento on Monday, March 20, 2023. The event was the first annual Trans Day of Visibility flag raising. The flag will be flown for the remainder of March in observance of Trans Day of Visibility which is March 31.
Renée C. Byer
rbyer@sacbee.com
The Trump administration on Monday terminated a civil rights settlement with Sacramento City Unified School District aimed at ensuring a transgender student’s right to equal opportunity to education.
The terminations of six agreements with educational institutions across the country are an escalation of President Donald Trump’s efforts to enforce an executive order that the government recognize only a person’s sex assigned at birth, according to the New York Times.
Sacramento City Unified School District leaders found out Monday that the 2024 settlement was rescinded, district spokesperson Al Goldberg said.
Goldberg said that the district is waiting to see if rescinding of these agreements will affect district policy or federal funding. He issued this statement on behalf of the district:
“The Sacramento City Unified School District remains committed to the support of our LGBTQ+ students and staff.”
The loss of federal funding could put the district in an even more vulnerable financial position as it faces a $170 million budget deficit and threats of state takeover.
A trans student’s civil rights complaint
The 2022 complaint alleged that a student who identifies as male and uses a male name and pronouns was discriminated against when a teacher refused to use the student’s preferred pronouns and did not allow enough time for the student to join the boys’ group during a class activity. A vice principal also allegedly referred to the student by the incorrect pronouns.
The Office of Civil Rights, then under the Biden administration, concluded that the district promptly directed the teacher and vice principal to use the student’s preferred pronouns and offered the student support, but that the Title IX Coordinator did not explain the formal complaint process to the complainant despite knowledge of alleged conduct that could meet Title IX’s definition of sexual harassment.
As a part of a 2024 settlement, the district agreed to provide training on Title IX policies to school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors and school resource officers. The district also agreed to issue a memorandum to employees that the Title IX coordinator must promptly contact the parents of the affected student to offer support measures and explain the process of filing a formal complaint.
The settlement aligned with a precedent that misgendering a student constituted sexual harassment under Title IX that the Trump administration is working to undo.
“Previous administrations distorted the law contrary to its plain meaning to police discrimination on the basis of ‘gender identity,’ not sex, and imposed resolution agreements with no legal foundation, but rather, based on an ideologically-driven interpretation of Title IX,” the Department of Education wrote in a statement. “They illegally saddled school districts with Title IX violations for actions such as ‘improper use of preferred pronouns’ or ‘asking questions about a student’s preferred ‘gender.’”
Federal education department officials told The New York Times that there was no precedent for the federal government terminating previously negotiated civil rights settlements with schools.
“To go back and terminate agreements and say all of the policies and procedures should be reversed as if nothing ever happened, that is very different and a very big deal,” said Nancy Potter, a former supervising lawyer at the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.
The move also targeted five other settlements in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington and elsewhere in California.
Sacramento City Unified’s support for trans students
SCUSD has been outspoken about its support of LGBTQ students, particularly trans students. In 2013 the board adopted a transgender and gender non-conforming student board policy drafted by the district’s LGBTQ+ task force which was updated again in 2018.
For the Trans Day of Visibility in 2023, district leaders and students held a historic flag raising ceremony to send a message of support to the trans community.
District leaders recognized the holiday again at a March 5 board meeting. Trustees displayed the transgender flag on the dais as Chanise Hendrix, the district’s LGBTQ support services coordinator, gave a presentation about the past and future of SCUSD’s efforts to protect trans and non-gender conforming students and staff.
Hendrix said that they are drafting another updated board policy, emphasizing the importance of an up-to-date policy so the public can be informed on the district’s support for the trans community. She also recommended that the district provide LGBTQ cultural competency training through a free professional development program for California educators.
The district is also rolling out all gender restroom access on all of its campuses to be completed by July 1, complying with a new state law.
“As the pressures mount and the law changes and the attacks continue, we implore you to stand firm in our commitment that we already have listed in our transgender and gender non-conforming student board policy: that we prioritize our students in our district,” Hendrix said.
The board unanimously approved the recognition of the Trans Day of Visibility.
This story was originally published April 6, 2026 at 2:19 PM.
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Jennah Pendleton is an education reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered schools and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. She grew up in Orange County and is a graduate of the University of Oregon.