Catholic group asks SCOTUS to block California law restricting parental notification

A Catholic legal group has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a California law that prevents public schools from disclosing to parents the gender identity of transgender students.

The Thomas More Association filed an emergency appeal Thursday, asking the Supreme Court to reinstate a decision made last month by a federal judge who said parents with religious objections could opt out of the law’s restrictions. According to POLITICO’s report, the challenged provisions prohibit teachers from notifying parents if a student wants to change their pronouns or gender identity.

“Parents are merely relinquishing the authority necessary for the school to fulfill its ‘educational mission’… they are not ceding the authority to decide whether their child is a boy or a girl,” attorneys for the Thomas More Society wrote in the appeal.

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The law, signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2024 and in effect since last year, also prohibits teachers from disclosing a student’s sexual orientation. However, this provision is not directly in question in the current legal struggle.

The measure was passed after several school districts in the Golden State implemented policies requiring teachers to contact parents if students want to change their name, pronouns or gender identity; these policies were what critics called “forced deschooling.”

The law allows disclosure of a student’s gender identity in “compelling” circumstances; Those who oppose it argue that the standard is vague and inadequate.

There are exceptions in the law that allow schools to disclose a student’s gender identity in “compelling” situations.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez issued a permanent injunction last month blocking parts of the law, siding 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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Supreme Court hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 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 identity,” Benitez said in the decision. he wrote. “Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be notified if their public school student expresses gender nonconformity.”

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later paused Benitez’s ruling, while California appealed the ruling, keeping the law in place for now.

Lawyers challenging the law said that in addition to seeking immediate relief from the nation’s highest court, they plan to ask a broader panel of Ninth Circuit judges to allow Benitez’s injunction to go into effect.

The law was passed after some school districts in the state approved policies requiring teachers to contact parents if students want to change their name, pronouns or gender identity. (Pictured via Mike Kemp/Getty Images)

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said the state will continue to defend the law.

“We look forward to pursuing our case in court,” a spokesperson from Bonta’s office told POLITICO.

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The case comes at a time when California’s education policies are under greater scrutiny. In March, the Trump administration announced that the Department of Education was launching an investigation into the state’s enforcement of the law.