In May, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced his office was accepting applications from those interested in serving on an LGBTQ+ Statewide Advisory Task Force to help ensure the needs of LGBTQ students in California are being met. It was created by the enactment of state legislation that Governor Gavin Newsom had signed into law last year.
In the news release from Thurmond's office, the advisory body referred to by its acronym the LGBTQ+ SAT was to "meet virtually approximately six times between July 2024 and January 2026." According to the legislation authored by gay state Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), Thurmond was to convene the task force by July 1, as the Bay Area Reporter had noted in an article last December.
Thurmond, running to be elected in 2026 the state's next governor, had noted when Newsom signed Laird's bill and several others he had supported in 2023, "Dangerous trends have emerged recently. A small group of extremists have continued to levy attacks on California's schools, targeting LGBTQ+ students. These measures will protect all members of the LGBTQ+ community and provide the resources needed to support all California students."
Yet, for months this fall, Thurmond's office was unresponsive to the B.A.R.'s inquiries about who was on the LGBTQ+ SAT and if it had met. It has yet to disclose the names of the people selected to serve on it, or how many times it has met and the dates for when it did so.
Nor does it appear to have been very communicative with LGBTQ leaders about the work of the task force. Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, had supported Laird's Senate Bill 857, which requires the statewide task force to issue a report on its work by January 1, 2026.
A spokesperson had told the B.A.R. in October in response to a question that it was "unaware" if the LGBTQ+ SAT had met and suggested contacting an LGBTQ+ schools health education consultant for the California Department of Education.
The person did not respond to an emailed interview request. Since mid-October, the B.A.R. has sought answers from the state agency's public affairs office about the task force's makeup and meetings. Spokesperson Alia Cruz-Jauregui had replied in an October 24 email that she would "get right back to you on the commission" but never did.
Unresponsive to several follow-up emails until last week, Cruz-Jauregui emailed the B.A.R. on December 6 that they would "follow up with my team and get right back to you." It wasn't until December 10, after the B.A.R. had contacted Laird for an interview about the status of the task force, that Cruz-Jauregui provided the paper with limited details about the composition and work to date of the LGBTQ+ SAT.
It is larger than the 15 members it was originally anticipated to have, with 31 people from across the state named to it. Eight are public high school students, six are public school teachers, and five are local education agency administrators. Another five are mental health practitioners, six are community advocates, and one represents the Office of Health Equity at the California Department of Public Health.
Cruz-Jauregui also reported that the LGBTQ+ SAT "has convened regularly" since July and "is on track to provide a report of their findings and recommendations to the Legislature, the Superintendent, and the Governor, on or before January 1, 2026."
Coincidentally, her email arrived as the B.A.R. was interviewing Laird's chief of staff, Richard Stapler, about the LGBTQ+ SAT. He said his office had been provided the same information as that given to a reporter for the newspaper.
"Part of the thing is there is a lot of sensitivity around having too much focus on it because of the sensitive nature of the work they do, and add to it fully half the school district members are minors," said Stapler. "As we understand it, you won't be seeing a public posting of all the members of the commission."
Little information
Thus, there is very little information provided publicly on the makeup of the task force on its website. A note on the page says it was last reviewed in early May and makes no mention of the advisory body's 31 members or any meeting information for it.
As of press time, Cruz-Jauregui has not responded to the B.A.R.'s follow-up inquiry for more details about who is serving on the LGBTQ+ SAT, the dates it has met, and if there are shareable notes from when it has convened.
California students, school staff, mental health professionals, and community advocates were to comprise the LGBTQ+ SAT, as the state education office had noted in its spring news release. It is to identify "the needs of LGBTQ+ students and make recommendations to assist in implementing supportive policies and initiatives to address LGBTQ+ student education and well-being," per Thurmond's office.
The idea for the advisory body had been suggested to Laird by youth-led nonprofit California Association of Student Councils. His legislation had sailed through the Legislature amid conservative-led school boards across the state adopting anti-LGBTQ policies, from banning curriculum materials related to LGBTQ topics to requiring school employees out transgender and queer students to their parents or guardians.
"It is high time that we ensure California's students have a rightful place at the table when it comes to matters of equity and inclusion," stated Laird after Newsom had signed his bill into law creating the LGBTQ+ SAT.
The interim executive director for the statewide student councils association hasn't responded to the B.A.R.'s emailed questions regarding the LGBTQ+ SAT and if it had been given representation on it.
Stapler said Laird's office is pleased to see that the task force has begun its work and plans to ask the state education office for periodic updates going forward.
"As it stands, we are quite happy with the initial implementation of the commission. Obviously, we will be monitoring their work closely," said Stapler. "We really hope this is a solid avenue for students who don't often have a voice on really significant issues to have a voice."
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