The U.S. Supreme Court has halted enforcement of a California policy that directed public school staff to withhold information from parents about their child’s gender identity at school without the student’s consent.
In a per curiam decision released Monday evening, the justices ruled in favor of parents who challenged the policy, including those who raised religious objections.
The 6-3 ruling clears the way for a federal district court injunction to take effect after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had temporarily paused it. The injunction prevents enforcement of the state requirement that schools keep parents in the dark about a student’s gender identity absent the child’s approval.
Writing that the parents were likely to prevail, the court said those seeking religious exemptions “are likely to succeed on the merits of their Free Exercise Clause claim.” The justices explained that “California’s policies likely trigger strict scrutiny under that provision because they substantially interfere with the ‘right of parents to guide the religious development of their children.’”
The opinion characterized the policy as an “intrusion on parents’ free exercise rights,” particularly for those who object to LGBT ideology on religious grounds.
“The State argues that its policies advance a compelling interest in student safety and privacy. But those policies cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents,” the court wrote.
“The State’s interest in safety could be served by a policy that allows religious exemptions while precluding gender-identity disclosure to parents who would engage in abuse. For these reasons, the parents who object to the California policies on free exercise grounds are likely to succeed on the merits.”
The justices also cited concerns related to due process, emphasizing that “parents — not the State — have primary authority with respect to ‘the upbringing and education of children.’”
“The right protected by these precedents includes the right not to be shut out of participation in decisions regarding their children’s mental health,” the opinion continued.
The legal battle began in 2023 when two teachers filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, challenging a district rule that required educators to conceal a student’s preferred gender identity from parents if the student requested confidentiality.
Parents whose children had socially transitioned at school without their knowledge later joined the case. State officials were also named as defendants after it was determined that similar policies extended beyond a single district.
In 2024, California enacted legislation barring school districts from mandating that educators disclose a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity to parents without the student’s consent.
In December, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, issued a permanent injunction blocking enforcement of the California Department of Education’s policy.
Days later, the 9th Circuit granted a stay of that order, leading the parents and teachers to file an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court.
