DRIVING THE DAY: Former Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas is set to be sentenced today in federal court. Prosecutors are asking for six years in prison as punishment for seven felonies involving conspiracy, bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud. THE BUZZ — California legislators are confronting LGBTQ rights in a way that might have seemed unimaginable just a handful of years ago. A nationwide wave of anti-transgender bills and rhetoric has come to the state, and Democrats and the governor are deciding how to respond. That tension is expected to play out this week with back-to-back rallies by groups on opposite sides of the debate over trans-inclusive policies in schools. On Monday, a conservative group called “Protect Kids” plans to introduce three ballot initiatives. The initiatives — backed by Republican Assemblymembers Bill Essayli and Joe Patterson — would install a requirement that schools out trans students to their parents, ban trans girls from competing in girls’ sports and ban gender-affirming health care for minors. The initiatives are not likely to qualify for the ballot. It typically takes millions of dollars to qualify a statewide ballot measure, and the committee backing the efforts has less than $1,000 as of June 30. Still, opponents say they feel compelled to fight the measures, especially as conservative school boards across the state have enacted or are considering “forced outing” policies for trans students. On Tuesday, members of the LGBTQ Caucus, advocacy group Equality California and supporters plan to rally against the wave of anti-trans proposals and attacks such as a recent killing of a Southern California shopkeeper who refused to take down a rainbow Pride flag. Democrats are also expected to soon announce a bill to take on school boards that have required staff to tell parents if they learn a student is transgender. Gov. Gavin Newsom has previously said he’s working with legislators on such a measure. Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, the former director of Equality California, said the caucus is pushing back against the notion that outing transgender students is a “parental rights” issue, noting that many LGBTQ young people face abuse if they come out at home. The issue — also the subject of several lawsuits funded by conservative groups — is a challenge to policies California enacted a decade ago to make schools inclusive for trans young people. Guidance from the state Department of Education advises teachers not to out trans students to their parents without their consent. Zbur said legislators want to send a message that “the schools should be doing no harm.” He said they also want to show that California is still a “beacon of hope” for LGBTQ people. Another thing we’re watching this morning: a forthcoming press conference from Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has sent multiple letters and opened an investigation into one of the school districts that adopted a forced outing policy for transgender students.
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