(The Center Square) \u2013 In Mirabelli v. Bonta, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit granted California\u2019s emergency motion for a freeze, temporarily suspending a class-wide permanent injunction against the state\u2019s gender secrecy policies in public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since 2023, the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm, has been representing the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against the Escondido Union School District, the California Department of Education and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Before the appeal, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez certified<\/a> a class action lawsuit in Mirabelli v. Bonta.<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The appellate court had granted the motion<\/a> to pause the permanent injunction, finding that there was no clear evidence that the policies prevent parents from obtaining information about their children.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause the policies at issue do not categorically forbid disclosure of information about students\u2019 gender identities to parents without student consent, other parties in this action, including the Plaintiffs, will not be substantially injured from the issuance of a stay,\u201d the order stated<\/a>. \u201cAdditionally, the public interest in protecting students and avoiding confusion among schoolteachers and administrators weighs in favor of a stay.\u201d<\/p>\n The suit began in April 2023, when two Escondido teachers, Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori West, sued their San Diego County school district and the California Department of Education after the district refused to grant them a religious accommodation.\u00a0<\/p>\n