After a chaotic debate on the House floor filled with shouting and tears, California lawmakers on Thursday sent a bill to Governor Gavin Newsom that would prohibit schools from requiring teachers to inform parents of changes in a student's gender identity.

The 61-16 vote followed a long and emotional back-and-forth between Democrats, who said the bill was necessary to protect LGBTQ+ youth, and Republicans, who said it would harm relationships between students and parents.

Rep. Christopher M. Ward's (D-San Diego) bill, AB 1955, would protect teachers from retaliation for supporting the rights of transgender students and would prohibit school policies that require “forced disclosure” of youth's gender-related decisions to their families.

The bill follows a wave of conservative-backed school board laws requiring parents to be informed when their child changes their name or pronouns, or when students request to use facilities or participate in programs whose gender does not match their gender on official records.

The implementation of these measures is being held up in court. But Democrats said Thursday that laws are needed to protect transgender students who may not feel safe enough at home to come out to their parents, citing the high rates of bullying and suicide among transgender youth.

“It's not the job of teachers to be the gender police. They want to teach and be able to create a safe and supportive environment. And when they do that, students will succeed,” a tearful Ward said in the chamber, surrounded by his Democratic colleagues who supported the bill. “Nothing in this bill interferes with the parent-child relationship.”

The vote came after fierce opposition from Rep. Bill Essayli (R-Corona), who opposed the measure citing concerns about “parental rights” and accused Democrats of scaremongering.

Deputy Speaker Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) repeatedly turned off Essayli's microphone during the debate and declared him “inadmissible” because he talked about other bills and “disparaged” the House while testifying against AB 1955.

“I’m tired of you interrupting me,” Essayli told Wood.

Essayli, who compared the state's Democrats to the “Chinese Communist Party,” responded by trying to block his Democratic colleagues' testimony.

The floor debate was interrupted by several procedural votes needed to cut down Essayli's time. The Democratic caucus eventually paused the vote to take a break after Rep. Corey Jackson (D-Perris) was physically restrained by his colleagues to prevent him from confronting Essayli on the floor of the Assembly.

“I blacked out. I lost it,” Jackson told the Times. “I don't think sometimes my Republican colleagues understand that some bills are not about politics. They're about recognizing people's humanity. So of course it's a personal thing.”

Jackson said he apologized to his colleagues in Parliament for the distraction and did not speak to Essayli about the matter.

“We stand behind you. We don't want anyone to be bullied or hurt or excluded or anything like that,” Essayli said after finally being allowed to speak on the bill in the plenary. “When a child goes through something like that, it's a very difficult and emotional time… We don't believe that the government – the schools – have any authority at all to withhold information from parents, period.”

Several members of the California Legislature's LGBTQ Caucus shared stories of coming out to express their support for the bill and their experiences with families who did not support them.

Rep. Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City) said a teacher told her her child was transgender and she was “disappointed” by that teacher's assessment.

“If my teacher had told my parents … I don't know if I would have survived that day because that was the extent of the abuse that was going on in my home,” Wilson said. “I don't care how old you are. That's a personal decision.”

Once the bill officially lands on his desk, Newsom has 12 days to sign it or veto it. The Senate passed it by a vote of 29-8.

The Democratic governor is a staunch LGBTQ+ activist. He signed a law in 2022 declaring California a sanctuary for transgender children and their families seeking medical care and support they cannot get in Republican states.

But he shocked LGBTQ+ activists when he vetoed a bill last year that would have required judges in custody disputes to consider a parent's support for their child's gender identity. In his veto message, he said: “I urge caution when the executive and legislative branches of state government seek to dictate legal standards to the judiciary – in a normative form that singles out a single characteristic.”

Newsom does not normally comment on pending bills.

When asked about the issue last year, he told the Times that he understood parents' concerns, but added that Republicans were using school board policies as an excuse to “bully” the LGBTQ+ community.

The governor, himself a father of four children, said that demanding that teachers “out” their students was a “limit” for him.

“I take very seriously the work I do as a parent at home to meet their needs and frankly don't expect teachers to take on my role as a parent,” Newsom said in November. “I want them to teach my children, and I want them to keep them safe and make them feel included and not outed.”