Temecula Valley Unified adopts new student privacy policy for shared facilities

The Temecula Valley Unified School District board unanimously voted to rescind prior language on mental-health and religious accommodations and adopt a new board policy and administrative regulation addressing student privacy in shared facilities (board policy/AR 5,145.35). The motion to rescind the earlier provisions and adopt the new policy passed 5-0 after brief amendments to change the term "*** segregated facilities" to "shared facilities."

Board members said the new policy creates a uniform, administrable process for parents and students to request privacy accommodations for locker rooms and other shared facilities while the district works with legal counsel to refine forms and procedures. District counsel and administrators told the board the changes were designed to comply with state law and Department of Education guidance while offering concrete, site-level steps to accommodate individual students.

The vote followed several hours of debate, public comment and an extended period of board discussion. Trustees and the district attorney described the policy as an interim, legally reviewed approach intended to provide protections for students’ privacy without restricting students’ statutory rights to use facilities consistent with gender identity. The board instructed staff to convert the adopted privacy request exhibit into a district Google form and to return with any further edits at a future meeting.

Trustees said the adopted policy standardizes how privacy requests are documented and handled. During deliberations, attorney Tony DeMarco told the board the policy and the administrative regulation are written for uniform application to avoid singling out any student group and to align with California guidance on student privacy. Some trustees described the final language as a compromise they could defend legally while the broader national and state legal landscape develops.

Public comment before the vote included students and parents urging protections for girls’ privacy in locker rooms and other speakers calling for protections and non-stigmatizing options for transgender and gender-nonconforming students. Several middle school students described how current locker-room processes reduced their changing time and asked the board to adopt solutions that do not require medical or religious labels. District staff explained that a range of existing opt-outs and accommodations are already in place and that the new form is intended to centralize and clarify those options for families.

The board simultaneously directed counsel to review additional materials submitted by trustees and community members and asked for the revised forms to be returned for final review. Trustees agreed the adopted policy is a working document: they will continue refining the administrative regulation and the associated privacy request form, and requested staff produce a public notice clarifying that prior draft forms were not district-mandated policies.

The board also asked staff to include a clear complaint pathway if parents or students believe district procedures were not followed. The district said the privacy request form and related guidance will be made available online and that staff will consult with site administrators and PE teachers as the district implements the policy.