SAN DIEGO – Parents have a constitutional right to be informed if their children socially transition their gender at school and teachers have a constitutional right to tell parents about the transition, a federal judge in Southern California ruled this week.
In a 52-page opinion handed down Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez said the case – Mirabelli v. Olson – presented four questions about a “parent’s right to information as against a public school’s policy of secrecy when it comes to a student’s gender identification.”
Benitez asked in his ruling whether parents have rights to get gender information based in the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee to due process, and whether such information is allowed to be given to parents despite the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion. Further, he said, the court had to determine whether public school teachers have a right to tell parents — based in the teacher’s own free exercise of religion — or whether they have a right to tell parents based on their own free speech.
“In each case, this court concludes that, as a matter of law, the answer is ‘yes,’ ” the judge continued. “Parents have a right to receive gender information and teachers have a right to provide to parents accurate information about a child’s gender identity.”
The state has asked the court to pause the ruling pending appeal.
In a statement, the ACLU of Southern California said the decision puts trans and gender nonconforming students at risk of being outed to their parents by their teachers and other school staff members. The ruling, the organization noted, also bars educators from using a student’s chosen name or pronouns if the student’s parent objects.
“Rather than focus on ensuring all students receive the best education they can, these efforts seek to exploit lack of familiarity with transgender people, spread misinformation, and disrupt trust within our school communities,” said Christine Parker, senior staff attorney with the Gender, Sexuality and Reproductive Justice Project at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. “This case is part of a nationwide, coordinated attack on trans people and all those who stand up for trans youth.”
Equality California, a LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, said the ruling undermines laws that protect transgender students, including last year’s SAFETY Act.
“Judge Benitez’s dangerous ruling goes far beyond the SAFETY Act and broadly targets numerous California laws and protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming students – attempting to invalidate critical safeguards that prevent forced outing and allow educators to respect a student’s affirmed name and pronouns at school,” the organization’s executive director, Tony Hoang, said in a statement.
“These protections exist for one reason: to keep students safe and ensure schools remain places where young people can learn and thrive without fear,” Hoang added.
Meanwhile, officials with the California Policy Center, a Southern California-based libertarian and conservative nonprofit public policy think tank, heralded the ruling as a “historic win for parental rights and a devastating loss” for Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.
“Parents’ constitutional right to direct the upbringing and education of their children cannot be overridden by state bureaucrats,” Lance Christensen, the organization’s vice president of Government Affairs and Education Policy, said in a statement.
“Judge Benitez issued a well-reasoned opinion that protects California parents, teachers and students,” added Emily Rae, president of the organization’s California Family Justice Center. “The ruling affirms that teachers cannot lie to parents about the gender identity of their own children.”
The Mirabelli lawsuit was filed by the Thomas More Society on behalf of two teachers who sued the Escondido Union School District over a policy that required teachers to use a student’s new name and pronouns at school, but use the student’s legal name and biological pronouns when speaking with parents, according to the organization.
The policy, the organization said, forced teachers to conceal a child’s new identity from their parents.
Check back for updates.