Court Delivers Stunning Rebuke to California: Schools Cannot Hide Gender Transitions from Parents

After years of state officials pushing transgender-secrecy policies in California’s public schools, a federal judge delivered a resounding legal rebuke yesterday, declaring those policies a violation of the U.S. Constitution. In Mirabelli v. Olson, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez ruled that California’s so-called Parental Exclusion Policies, which have required school officials to hide a minor student’s gender identity or “social transition” from parents, are unconstitutional and must be permanently blocked. This decision affects every public school district in California, vindicating parental rights and teacher conscience protections. 

Judge Benitez’s summary judgment order, issued just days before Christmas, permanently enjoins enforcement of these policies and restores the basic constitutional liberty of parents to be informed about important aspects of their children’s lives.

State Officials Promoted Secrecy

For years, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other state leaders have insisted that schools must conceal information about a student’s gender identity or expression from their parents. On the Attorney General’s own website, the state asserts a sweeping individual “right” to conceal gender identity, including from parents:

“You have the right to disclose – or not disclose – your gender identity on your own terms, regardless of your age. Your school, whether public or private, doesn’t have the right to ‘out’ you as LGBTQ+ to anyone without your permission, including your parents.” California DOJ

This statement was widely disseminated and used to justify secrecy policies and trainings across districts.

Yet, as the federal court found, no such right can constitutionally override the fundamental rights of parents or the protections afforded to teachers under the U.S. Constitution.

The Lawsuit: Mirabelli v. Olson

The case was brought by two California public school teachers, Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori West, who were forced into the legal fight after their own school district’s policy (Escondido Union School District) required them to conceal from parents when a student adopted a different gender identity or pronouns at school. Both Elizabeth and Lori are seasoned educators and faithful Christians with decades of teaching experience. They genuinely love their students and believe in honesty and parental involvement in a child’s upbringing. 

Under their district’s Parental Exclusion Policy, teachers were compelled to use a student’s chosen name and opposite-sex pronouns and not tell parents that the change had occurred unless the student consented. For Elizabeth and Lori, this posed an impossible choice: lie to parents in violation of their faith and ethics, or face retaliation and potential loss of their careers. 

Refusing to be foot soldiers for gender ideology, the two teachers, with the assistance of the Thomas More Society, filed suit. 

The Constitutional Holding

Judge Benitez’s ruling is comprehensive and unequivocal. The court held that California’s gender-secrecy regime, as applied in public schools, violates:

• Parents’ fundamental rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children
  
  
• Teachers’ First Amendment rights to free speech and religious exercise
  
  
• And core constitutional principles protecting family autonomy
  

According to the court, forcing teachers to actively hide critical information from parents is not a neutral policy but affirmative state interference in the parent-child relationship, something the Constitution forbids.

In his Summary Judgment Order and accompanying Permanent Injunction, Judge Benitez left no ambiguity. The court held that California’s parental exclusion and gender-secrecy policies violate the federal constitutional rights of parents and teachers. As a result, the court permanently barred Attorney General Rob Bonta, the California Department of Education, and all state actors from enforcing any law, regulation, guidance, or training, including the new PRISM LGBTQ+ cultural competency teacher training courses, in a manner that misleads parents or conceals a student’s gender incongruence from them.

Classwide Relief and Permanent Injunction

Because Mirabelli v. Olson was certified as a class action, the court’s ruling extends beyond the original plaintiffs to all teachers, parents, and guardians in California affected by these policies.

The court issued a class-wide permanent injunction barring state and local officials from enforcing any policy that “requires or induces school personnel to withhold information from, or mislead, parents or guardians of a public school student about issues that materially affect a student’s health, welfare, or physical education.” Thomas More Society

Critically, as part of the order, the court directed that a clear constitutional statement be included in state training materials such as PRISM, previously used to promote secrecy. That directive states:

“Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be informed if their public school student child expresses gender incongruence. Teachers and school staff have a federal constitutional right to accurately inform the parent or guardian of their student when the student expresses gender incongruence. These federal constitutional rights are superior to any state or local laws, state or local regulations, or state or local policies to the contrary.” 

This language must now appear prominently in annual trainings, replacing prior guidance that encouraged silence and secrecy.

Reaction From Advocates

Greg Burt, Vice President of the California Family Council, hailed the ruling as justice finally upheld in the face of longstanding statewide resistance:

“This ruling vindicates what parents’ rights advocates have been saying all along. The state told schools they had to keep secrets from moms and dads, and that was never true. A federal judge has now made it unmistakably clear: children do not belong to the government, parents have the right to know what’s happening with their own kids, and teachers should never be forced to lie or stay silent to keep their jobs.”

Paul Jonna, Special Counsel at the Thomas More Society and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, called the victory historic:

“Today’s incredible victory finally, and permanently, ends California’s dangerous and unconstitutional regime of gender secrecy policies in schools… The Court’s comprehensive ruling—granting summary judgment on all claims—protects all California parents, students, and teachers, and it restores sanity and common sense. With this decisive ruling from Judge Benitez, all state and local school officials that mandate gender secrecy policies should cease all enforcement or face severe legal consequences.” Thomas More Society

Jonna also praised Elizabeth and Lori for their courage in stepping forward to challenge a system that forced deception and jeopardized trust in educational relationships. 

Impact on Schools and Parents

This decision forces a dramatic policy shift across California’s public education system:

• District secrecy policies can no longer be enforced.
  
  
• Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be informed if their public school student child expresses gender incongruence.
  
  
• Teachers may now freely disclose to parents when a student expresses gender incongruence or assumes a different gender identity at school.
  
  
• State officials can no longer legally claim that schools are “required” to conceal such information.
  

School boards and administrators must revise their policies immediately to comply with the constitutional rights affirmed by the court or risk legal consequences.

The ruling effectively places parents back at the center of their children’s lives, affirming that government has no constitutional authority to isolate children from their families over matters as profound as identity, health, and well-being.