For 46 years, CVUSD middle schoolers have enjoyed Outdoor School, a multi-day retreat spent in the local mountains studying and enjoying nature. But this year, the district is allowing boys to choose to share cabins and restrooms with girls, and girls with boys, according to Los Cerritos’s principal Jason Klinger.
In an e-mail response to the father of an eighth-grade girl who attends the school, Klinger wrote: “As required by this California law, students will be in a cabin that is consistent with their gender identity.”
Klinger cited California Education Code 221.5(f), which states, “A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
This means that not only will CVUSD allow boys and girls to share cabins, but cabin counselors themselves may declare they are whatever gender they wish — allowing male cabin counselors to sleep in female students’ cabins and share their restrooms. According to a document authored by CVUSD assistant superintendent Kenny Loo, “The cabin counselors, most of whom are high school seniors, have been carefully selected, based on their qualifications and backgrounds.”
The gender-mixing disclosure came after Los Cerritos’s dad Tim Toton participated in a live webinar orientation for Outdoor School with his daughter.
“The kids are in bunkhouses,” Toton says. “It dawned on me to ask, are they separated by biological gender?”
Toton’s kids have attended public schools locally since the family moved here from the San Fernando Valley in 2008. In 2018, Toton was named a PTA parent of the year at Lang Ranch. But his question was ignored in the live chat as Klinger answered other questions.
Toton followed up with e-mails to Klinger and Tom Hoegeman, coordinator of Outdoor School, the next day, and Klinger’s brief e-mail response left him cold.
“There were no apologies, no empathy or sympathy. Just, ‘Here’s the information,’” says Toton.
The gender-mixing policy applies district-wide, but parents have an out if they are unwilling to allow their girls to potentially occupy a cabin with male students or male cabin counselors pretending to be women. Outdoor School FAQs say: “Students have the option of attending
Outdoor School for the daytime activities and not spend the night at camp. It will be the responsibility of the parents/guardians to pick up and drop off their student each day. Please notify your classroom teacher for this option.” (Emphasis added.)
Parents may also contact the Outdoor School Office at (805) 497-9511 ext. 4248 or e-mail Tom Hoegeman, coordinator of Outdoor School, at [email protected] for more information on the policy.
Jason Klinger, Mark McLaughlin and Tom Hoegeman did not respond to requests for comment.
Let’s start with the quote, “The cabin counselors, most of whom are high school seniors, have been carefully selected, based on their qualifications and backgrounds.” I would like to know what “qualifies” these male seniors with raging hormones to sleep in a secluded cabin with young female children. Of course, it would seem perfectly normal to those parents who are so oblivious to what, can, and will happen. The door is wide open for several opportunities for, molestation, rape, intimidation, fear, threatening if these young innocent girls to say anything. If they do say anything, they will be told bad things will happen to them or their family. First off if any parent would send their precious children to such an unsafe environment, they should be arrested for aiding and abetting in the crimes that will take place along with these “qualified male or seniors”. Why do senior males even have this as an option. This infuriates me that such a disgusting thought of what is supposed to be a wonderful time for our children to camp and explore and most of all feel safe, has turned into a free for all for criminal activity. This will be the case I assure you. Parents this will be on you more than the predators as it is your choice to send your kids and put them in this potentially horrific situation. Shut this down at once. And please do not allow your children to possibly encounter a life changing altercation that they will never forget and ruin their life.
Congratulations, You nailed well said. These laws should be changed and in order to do that we need to stand together and NOT participate in the actions that are harming our children. They will not hear us if we keep falling into their ways as sheep do. Make a stand do not send our kids will be powerful statement that we do not tolerate this action. Thank you
I didn’t get to attend the live webinar. When I click the link on the schools site to watch it now, it gives me an error and won’t load the page. So, I’m not sure if this is true, but if it is, my daughter won’t be going. Why not just put all the kids in gender identity crisis in cabins together? Problem solved.