The head of the California school board, who faced death threats and spam after passing a parental rights policy last month, is doubling down on her position.
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Sonia Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified County Board of Education, told CBN’s Faithwire that the string of Satanic threats and messages is “a little bizarre” and said the backlash came after she and other board members chose to defend parental notification rights.
“It was a simple notification policy,” Shaw said. “There were certain things when (I was) a candidate that parents would express concerns, and that’s why this policy was so special.”
The problem extends well beyond Chino Valley, the school board president said, though she’s hearing from people across California who agree that parents should be notified of their child’s decision to specify their non-biological sex. Chino Valley policy requires parents to be notified within three days.
“I am grateful that we were able to bring forward an exemplary policy for something like this,” Xu said. “But…we got some heat for it, but I want to say, even though there’s heat, there’s a lot of support from all over the country, and I really appreciate that from the bottom of my heart.”
Watch Shaw tell her story:
Prior to running the Shaw School Board for 2022, she was part of a local grassroots advocacy group in her community. As California’s policies in Sacramento continued to affect families, she felt the situation was beginning to “lose some trust between the government and… families.”
“It’s really sad when you have all these proposed bills that drive the family unit apart and they start to create some kind of weird secret relationship with our kids,” Shaw said. “And we don’t put our kids down to have a weird relationship.”
She said it’s one thing for teachers to talk and listen to children — something she appreciates. But Xu said teachers should “get on board” with parents rather than hide details.
This is one of the primary factors driving parental rights policy in the Chino Valley.
“The development of this policy sends back the message that … we’re done,” Shaw said. We’re done trying to dismantle the family unit. Parents need to be involved.”
She continued, “And to be completely honest, I think it’s dangerous to assume that parents are dangerous, and I think it’s despicable of government — that they assume parents are, right off the bat, dangerous to their children.”
As for the threats and negative reaction that Shaw received, she said that she did not flinch from her mission. She commended the local police for offering protection, the church community for stepping up, and other locals who offered to pray and provide protection.
However, the crazy messages are annoying and will put any mom on edge.
“(The meeting) happened on Thursday,” she said of the July 20 board meeting during which the policy was passed by a 4-1 vote. “That morning, I received some very disturbing voicemails with an email and…a call to our precinct.”
According to Shaw, one of the messages was to “talk about how they’re going to kill me.”
“I got nauseous,” she admitted.
Shaw again noted how the community rallied and said her Christian faith provided peace. While authorities have already made one arrest over the threatening letters, the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education is now fighting with state officials.
As CBN Faith Previously mentionedCalifornia Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond appeared at a Chino Valley School Board meeting on July 20 to oppose the parental rights policy and was escorted outside when he reportedly spoke during his allotted time.
Now, the state is taking action against the policy, but many remain unwilling. In fact, Shaw said her policy could become a reality in countless additional California counties.
“They opened an investigation into us with the Office of Civil Rights,” Shaw said of state officials. “It’s just another fear tactic.”
In the end, Xu said she was not willing to back down, especially on parents’ rights over their children and what she sees as government overreach.
“They want control, and we… will stand up to government harassment,” she said.
