A federal judge certified a class-action lawsuit last week that challenges a California school district’s policy that directs employees to conceal a child’s gender identity from their parents and guardians.
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez allowed the case to move forward on behalf of potentially millions of parents and teachers in the district.
“This is a watershed moment for parental rights and religious freedom in education,” said Paul M. Jonna, the special counsel for the Thomas More Society, a conservative legal foundation that is representing the plaintiffs. “Judge Benitez has recognized that California’s gender secrecy policies affect millions of families and teachers, and that everyone impacted deserves to have the fundamental constitutional issues squarely resolved.”
Jonna added that he expected the Nov. 17 hearing to provide “clarity and accountability” on the district’s policies.
The judge will decide at the hearing if the policies in question violate the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and religious expression and the Fourteenth Amendment rights that protect parents’ rights to direct how to raise their children.
Background on the lawsuit
This class action stems from a lawsuit in April 2023. Two Escondido teachers, Elizabeth Mirabelli, a Catholic, and Lori West, a Christian, sued the school district and the California Department of Education for violating their rights to free speech and religious freedom.
The Escondido Union School policy required them to withhold information about students from parents.
The state pushed back and said that the policy, which they categorized as “just a suggestion,” is meant to protect students from abuse.
“Parents should not be left out of their child’s school life. What parent would want that?” Mirabelli told the San Diego Union-Tribune in July 2024.
At the time, Judge Benitez blocked the policy, ruling in favor of the two teachers and substantiating their concerns about curbing religious freedoms and dismissing the value of parental guidance.
Newsom vs. the federal government
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill in July last year that prohibited school districts from telling parents information about their student’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education responded by launching an investigation into the bill Newsom signed.
“Teachers and school counselors should not be in the business of advising minors entrusted to their care on consequential decisions about their sexual identity and mental health. That responsibility and privilege lies with a parent or trusted loved one,” said U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the time.
Huntington Beach, a red-leaning coastal city in California, and a group of parents also sued the state over the law.