A group of Esperanza High School students led a protest Wednesday against a state law allowing students to choose a bathroom based on what gender they identify with, stemming from one student at the school who they say was born male but identifies as female.

Esperanza junior Lesley Ledesma led the walkout after she encountered a classmate using the female restroom.

“When I asked, `why are you in this bathroom? I was told, `I am trans, I identify as a girl,”’ Ledesma said.

The student added, “I was immediately alarmed not because I wanted to disrespect anyone’s identity but because I was suddenly uncertain about my own privacy and safety in a space I had always trusted.”

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District issued a statement saying the protest was “peaceful, and thanks to

See Full Page