JURUPA VALLEY, Calif. — California schools will be required to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender under a new bill Assembly member Bill Essayli, R-Norco, proposed Monday.

“AB 1314 is simple and straightforward,” Essayli said outside Jurupa Valley High School, where, he added, the administration requires teachers to conceal a student’s transgender status from their parents. “If a child requests to be publicly addressed by a gender pronoun other than their sex at birth, or to use facilities of a different gender, a parent must be notified.”

Essayli cited a recent study from National Public Radio that found transgender youth are less likely to experience depression if they have parental support. More than 50% of transgender youth have considered suicide.

AB 1314 seeks to strengthen California Education Code Section 5, which gives parents the right to be partners in their children’s education, he said. The bill does not seek to alter existing laws providing medical or psychological confidentiality for minors, nor does it prevent schools from protecting a child that may be in danger off campus or at home.