Catholic group asks SCOTUS to block California law limiting parental notification
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A group of Catholic lawyers has asked the US Supreme Court to block a California law that prohibits public schools from informing parents of the gender identity of transgender students.
The Thomas More Society filed an emergency motion on Thursday asking the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling last month by a federal judge that said parents who objected religiously could opt out of the law’s restrictions. The challenged provisions prevent teachers from notifying parents if a student wishes to change their pronouns or gender identity, according to a POLITICO report.
“Parents relinquish the authority necessary for the school to fulfill its ‘educational purpose’ … they do not delegate the authority to make decisions about whether their child is a boy or a girl,” Thomas More Society lawyers wrote in the complaint.
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The law prohibits teachers from telling parents if a student wants to use new pronouns or adopt a different gender identity. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The law, which was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom of California in 2024 and served last year, and prohibits teachers from disclosing a student’s sexual preferences. That provision, however, is not directly relevant to the current legal challenge.
The measure was adopted after several school districts in the Golden State implemented policies that require teachers to contact parents if students want to change their names, pronouns or gender identity — policies that critics have labeled “forced opt-out.”
The law allows the disclosure of the student’s gender identity in “compelling” cases, the usual argument of the opponents is vague and insufficient.
There are exceptions under the law that allow schools to disclose a student’s gender in “compelling” circumstances.
US District Judge Roger Benitez issued a permanent injunction last month blocking parts of the law, which sided with two Escondido Union School District teachers – Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West – who argued their district’s policies violated their constitutional and religious rights.
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The Supreme Court appears on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
“Parents have the right to receive gender information and teachers have the right to provide parents with accurate information about the child’s gender,” Benitez wrote in the decision. “Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be informed if their child attending a public school expresses gender non-conformity.”
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later stayed Benitez’s decision while California appealed the decision, keeping the law in place for now.
Besides seeking emergency relief from the nation’s highest court, lawyers opposing the law say they plan to ask a larger panel of judges in the Ninth Circuit to allow Benitez’s order to take effect.
The law was adopted after several school districts in the state adopted policies requiring teachers to contact parents if students want to change their name, pronouns or gender identity. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said the state will continue to defend the law.
“We look forward to continuing to take our case to court,” a spokesperson for Bonta’s office told POLITICO.
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The case comes amid widespread scrutiny of California’s education policies. In March, the Trump administration announced that the Department of Education had launched an investigation into the state’s implementation of the law.
