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Santa Ana Unified School District board member Brenda Lebsack was recently censured by her fellow Trustees for her public remarks about transgender athletes during a discussion about National Arab American Heritage Month.
When board members voted to proclaim April as National Arab American Heritage Month, on April 22, Lebsack abstained and calling for a proclamation focused on Arab Muslims and the “religious rights of all students.”
Lebsack also said that she attended a meeting with Assemblyman Avelino Valencia at the Islamic Center of Santa Ana, when she said they talked about “educational and athletic bills that impact their families, cultural and religious values.”
Lebsack noted that during the meeting “They discussed bills to protect girls sports and spaces and expressed their united opposition of allowing biological males to compete against female athletes or invade their private safe spaces in locker rooms or bathrooms.”
That comment was all it took for SAUSD Trustees Valerie Magdaleno and Katelyn Brazer Aceves to rip into Lebsack, at the May 20 SAUSD Board meeting.
Magdaleno whined that “Unfortunately, Miss Lebsack’s continued promotion of anti-trans rhetoric disguised as governance falls outside the scope of ethical leadership and directly contradicts the inclusive values that this board has pledged to uphold.”
Brazer Aceves pretty much said the same thing, “I support this resolution because it reaffirms our commitment to maintaining a safe, respectful environment for all students. Words matter, especially when they come from individuals in positions of public trust.”
Lebsack defended herself at the meting by saying that many people are concerned about transgender and gender nonconforming athletes.
Lebsack attested that “I was very shocked that this would have such a strong outcry. I just think a lot of people believe that way, that they want to protect girls’ spaces.”
Lebsack is not wrong about this. A survey from April 2025 by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that 71% of public school parents in California support requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with.
This indicates a significant percentage of parents in California are opposed to genetic males participating in female athletics at schools if it means competing based on gender identity rather than sex assigned at birth.
That did not stop the woke SAUSD School Board from voting 4-1, with Lebsack dissenting, to censure her during the school board meeting on May 20.
The censure was as a formal reprimand for specified conduct when comments are made against policies, according to the SAUSD School Board’s attorney. It doesn’t take away any rights of the sitting board member but is most definitely an abridgement of her free speech rights.
This was all of course a carefully crafted distraction by the woke SAUSD School Board. The real issue in Santa Ana is that the School Board, absent Lebsack, voted to lay off 262 employees the day before the censure vote.
An actually functional school district, the Capistrano Unified School District – one of the biggest in Orange County, recently adopted a resolution in support of fairness in female sports and in opposition of transgender athletes in women’s competitions.
In May 2023, the extremely progressive Santa Ana Unified School board members changed their policies on transgender and gender nonconforming athletes.
Their policy states that “Transgender and gender nonconforming students should be allowed access to locker room facilities that align with their gender identity. Transgender and gender nonconforming students, however, shall not be forced to use the locker room corresponding to their assigned sex at birth.”
California state law, specifically AB 1266 (the School Success and Opportunity Act, passed in 2013), requires public schools to allow students to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with their gender identity, regardless of the gender listed on their records.
This means that transgender students, including transgender girls (who were assigned male at birth but identify as female), are legally permitted to participate in girls’ sports. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which governs high school athletics in the state, also has bylaws that support this, stating that all students “should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity.”
While there have been recent efforts and discussions, including a bill introduced by a Republican Assemblywoman that would have banned athletes whose gender was assigned male at birth from competing in girls’ sports, these efforts have failed in the Democratic-dominated California Legislature.
The issue remains highly controversial, with ongoing debates, a recent Justice Department investigation into whether California’s law conflicts with Title IX, and a recent rule change by the CIF for the 2025 State Track and Field Championships to allow more biological female athletes to compete in events where a transgender athlete has qualified. However, these developments do not constitute a ban on transgender girls participating in girls’ sports across California school districts.
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently made headlines for comments on transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. In a March 2025 podcast appearance, Newsom stated that he believes it is “deeply unfair” for transgender women and girls to compete in female sports.
This stance marks a shift in tone for Newsom, who has historically been a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and has overseen California’s progressive laws regarding transgender students’ participation in sports. His remarks caused significant backlash from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and some Democratic lawmakers, who expressed disappointment and anger.
Newsom’s comments came in the context of a broader political discussion, with some speculating that he is seeking to appeal to a wider range of voters or is responding to public opinion polls that show significant opposition to transgender women in women’s sports, even among some Democrats.
While he acknowledged the “fairness” issue, Newsom also emphasized the need for “humility and grace” in discussing vulnerable communities and noted that transgender individuals face significant challenges, including higher rates of suicide, anxiety, and depression.
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