Travis Mougeotte, a social studies teacher at Whitney High School and President of the Rocklin Teachers Association (RTA), is the public face of the teacher’s multi-year campaign to undermine parental rights in the Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD). Backed by LOCAL teacher’s union MEMBERS and MONEY, Mougeotte has fought vigorously—and persistently—to keep parents in the dark about children’s gender identity changes if they are discussed at school.
At the center of the conflict is Regulation 5020, a policy adopted by RUSD requiring school staff to notify parents within three days if a student requests to be identified by a different gender or pronoun. This policy was created in response to growing concerns among parents that schools were withholding critical information about their children. Mougeotte and the RTA aggressively oppose it, claiming it endangers LGBTQ+ students—despite the fact that FEDERAL law does not allow school employees to override a parent’s right to know what’s happening with their child.
The teachers’ efforts are not new. The teachers and Mougeotte’s first public confrontation over parental rights dates back to September 2023, as captured in this Wake Up Placer video:
Nearly two years later—in May 2025, despite legal pressure from national nonprofit legal teams, intense community attention, and the electoral victory of President Donald Trump—Rocklin teachers and Mougeotte have doubled down on their stance. Rocklin teachers and Mougeotte are still attacking the parental rights, Federal law and are refusing to comply- URL links to Mougeotte’s May attack on the RUSD Board.
Rocklin teachers' have deployed an aggressive set of tactics to fight the school board and the parents who support it. These include launching national media campaigns to shame the district, filing legal complaints with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in an attempt to block board policy by asserting it cannot be added to their contract, and by spending more than $60,000 of local teacher union dues to finance pro transgender candidates for school board. Rocklin teachers’ efforts are not focused on improving education—but rather on silencing parents and intimidating elected officials who stand for transparency and accountability. Wake up Placer has included campaign contribution documents at the bottom of this article that share that not only did the Rocklin Unified Teacher’s Union spend ~$60,000 of their money on RUSD candidates Johnson and Brookover- they helped raise an additional ~$60,000 for them. THE ROCKLIN COMMUNITY SHOULD KNOW THESE NUMBERS—THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT SPENDING THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY ON RUSD BOARD RACES REPRESNTS 5 TIMES WHAT A HISTORICAL RUSD CANIDATE WOULD RAISE.
These videos demonstrate that the Teacher’s actions are not a one-time objection, but a pattern of defiance—a significant sustained effort by Rocklin Teachers to fight parents, fight the school board, and fight Federal law.
Despite the legal warning signs—including those issued by respected organizations like the Thomas More Society, which continues to defend the constitutional rights of parents across the country—Rocklin teachers have not backed down. They continue to advocate for a model where teachers, not parents, control access to vital information about children’s identity and behavior in school. Rocklin teachers think your kids gender can change- and – they think they dont have to discuss that with parents.
Rocklin teachers’ actions directly contradict federal legal precedent, which clearly affirms the right of parents to direct the upbringing and care of their children. Rocklin teachers’ actions also defy the will of a community that elected a school board on a platform of restoring transparency and parental involvement. The renunciation of Price Johnson and Jen Brookover, who support hiding gender discussions from parents was clear. Rocklin teachers' backed, pro-transgender candidates for the Rocklin Unified School Board, Price Johnson and Jen Brookover, were EACH decisively defeated by 16% margins. Despite this clear message from voters, teachers' continues to oppose the community's desire for transparency and parental involvement.
Adding to the concern is the Gold Country Media/Placer Hearld’s coverage of these issues. Our city newspaper has consistently presented the teachers' perspective, supporting the notion that teachers should have the right to withhold information from parents that the teachers' legal stance is justified. Bill Poindexter, the paper’s editor has chosen not to provide balanced reporting. He has chosen not to cover the parental rights viewpoint, despite the community’s significant support for parents’ rights. This lack of journalistic impartiality is shocking, especially considering the outcome of the 2024 RUSD Board election.
Mougeotte and Rocklin teachers are not just against Federal law—they are against the Constitution, and wrose – they are fighting the community’s desire for basic trust between families and schools.
Please share this article, with friends or via social media. Also please contact Mr. Poindexter and share that his paper must start to provide balanced coverage of this issue.
You may contact him via Gold Country Media at 530-852-0256 or billp@goldcountrymedia.com
Campagin fundraising information from Price Johnson and Jen Brookover’s 2024 campaign for RUSD Board below. These forms share that Rocklin teachers spent ~$30K each to help Johnson and Brookover get elected. It also suggests that the teachers helprd these canidates raise an addtional $60K to win seats on the RUSD Board. Rocklin parents need to know this is 5 times what an average canidate would raise.
