Anti-GLBT activists have filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court attempting to repeal a new law designed to protect students and youth, including those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender, that was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month.

A coalition of conservative organizations, attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and Advocates for Faith and Freedom (AFF) filed suit in federal court in San Diego Nov. 27, attempting to undo safeguards designed to protect GLBT students by challenging the constitutionality of California Senate Bill 777 – the Safe Place to Learn Act.

The new law, set to become effective Jan. 1, adds the terms “gender” and “sexual orientation” to the California Education Code, and expands the existing term “sex” to include gender identity, which means a person’s self-identified gender. Additionally, the law says “no teacher shall give instruction, nor shall a school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias” against students.

According to the lawsuit – which seeks an injunction barring the law from going into effect – the change “recklessly abandons the traditional understanding of biological sex in favor of an elusive definition that is unconstitutionally vague.”

“State officials are jeopardizing women’s privacy and the safety of women and children. Without any standards for determining someone’s ‘gender,’ school officials have no way to prevent a man from using the girls’ restroom or locker room, for example, and this should alarm students and parents,” said ADF legal counsel Tim Chandler.

SB 777 redefines the California Education Code to prohibit schools from imposing dress codes or segregating school activities and programs on the basis of “gender.” ADF and AFF attorneys representing California Education Committee, LLC, consequently, argue that SB 777 is so vague that it could force schools to permit boys to participate in girls’ sports and run for homecoming queen.

Equality California executive director Geoff Kors, who supported the bill, said the lawsuit is wrong. “It is ironic that organizations that claim to support families are working to overturn a law that will protect students and help keep them in school,” Kors said.

“If California state law is inconsistent and confusing, school districts can’t enforce it effectively, and students suffer as a result,” he said, explaining the law simply clarifies conflicting state laws regarding students’ discrimination and harassment.

In the past, lack of clarity in state law has resulted in lawsuits that cost taxpayers millions of dollars in unnecessary litigation and settlement costs. In recent years, a handful of California school districts, including Los Angeles, Morgan Hill, Visalia and Banning have faced lawsuits for failing to protect GLBT students from harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Individual school districts have paid anywhere between $45,000 and more than $1.1 million in settlements or judgments, not including attorney fees, Equality California said.

According to Kors, the definition of gender has been in the California Education Code since 2000 and there have been no controversies surrounding it.

Approximately 30 percent of California youth in grades seven to 11 report experiencing harassment or bullying based on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation, according to the 2006 California Healthy Kids Survey.

Jessica Ramos, a local high school sophomore, said she knows the bullying all too well.

“Many adults often tell us how lucky we have it because we are able to come out and be more open about our identity at such a young age, but that comes with several consequences,” Ramos, a self-identified “gender queer” said, explaining she has been the target of harassment due to her identity. “It is difficult enough being a teenager growing up and facing the struggles that society places on us. Laws like SB 777 would help put a stop to such harassment,” she said.

Kors, who said both the Legislature and the governor have sent the clear message that discrimination will not be tolerated in California’s public schools, vowed that Equality California will work to preserve the law.

“We owe all California students a safe and secure learning environment so they can do better academically and have a strong foundation for future success,” he concluded.