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ISSUE | PARENTAL NOTIFICATION WHEN STUDENTS CHANGE THEIR NAME, PRONOUNS OR GENDER IDENTITY AT SCHOOL: In the Rocklin Unified School District Area 2 trustee race, board members Tiffany Saathoff and Michelle Sutherland are running against each other as the district moves from at-large to by-district elections. They differ over whether district employees should be required to notify parents when a student asks to use a different name or pronouns at school.
Read more Fact Check: Where Rocklin school board candidates stand on parental notification
Here’s where the candidates stand:
Tiffany Saathoff
Saathoff supports requiring school employees to notify parents when a student asks to use a different name or pronouns at school.
“When a student requests that their name change be shared with hundreds of classmates, teachers, and parent volunteers, of course their parents should be notified as well,” Saathoff said. “Parents are critical partners and the school shouldn’t hide widely known information from them.”
Saathoff said parents are “critical partners” in their children’s education and that schools and families should work together.
Her position is consistent with her campaign emphasis on parental involvement. Saathoff lists “Parent Voice” as a campaign priority and says she is committed to parental rights in education and to supporting parents as primary decision-makers.
She also voted in September 2023 to approve Rocklin Unified’s parental-notification policy.
Michelle Sutherland
Sutherland said she does not support a blanket requirement that teachers notify parents when a student requests to use a different name or pronouns.
“I do not believe in a government mandate that requires teachers to notify parents of a student’s name preference or pronouns in a one-size-fits-all, inflexible process,” Sutherland said.
She said there can be circumstances in which disclosing information to a parent could put a student at risk of serious harm or neglect.
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Instead, Sutherland said schools should ensure students have trusted adults on campus who can help them navigate sensitive situations and encourage communication with their parents when appropriate.
Sutherland also said she supports considering a different approach to parental notification, pointing to a revised policy in Chino Valley that triggers notification based on changes to student records rather than specifically addressing gender-related requests.
Why it matters
The candidates’ disagreement dates to a Rocklin Unified policy adopted in September 2023.
The policy required district employees to notify parents within three school days when a student requested to be identified as another gender, use a different name or pronouns, or use certain school facilities inconsistent with the student’s sex at birth.
Saathoff voted for the policy. Sutherland was the lone trustee to vote against it.
The policy subsequently became the subject of a labor dispute and legal proceedings. The Public Employment Relations Board ordered Rocklin Unified to rescind the policy in January 2025, concluding that it violated state law.
The district challenged the decision and eventually petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court. The court declined to hear the case on June 1, 2026, leaving the PERB order in place.
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