Supreme Court blocks California policy concealing gender identity changes from parents

By Troy Myers
Contributing Writer

The Supreme Court on Monday blocked a California policy that prohibited school personnel from notifying parents when students requested changes to their documented gender identity at school, without the students’ permission.  

Parents and teachers had asked the high court to rule on the case, Mirabelli v. Bonta, after a federal appeals court had reinstated the state policy.  

“Plaintiffs alleged that California’s policies permitted disclosure of a student’s gender transitioning at school only if the student consented,” the ruling states. “Plaintiffs claimed that these policies violated their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. 

“We conclude that the parents who seek religious exemptions are likely to succeed on the merits of their Free Exercise Clause claim.” 

Parents and teachers requested that the Supreme Court block the California policy as litigation unfolded. The justices only granted relief to the parents. 

The high court cited a previous landmark ruling it issued in 2025, called Mahmoud v. Taylor. In this 6-3 decision, the justices said parents have a constitutional right to control the religious upbringing of their children. 

Maryland parents had sued their school district after being denied the right to excuse their K-5 children from being exposed to LGBT material at school. 

Two parent plaintiffs in the Mirabelli v. Bonta case, who have religious objections to gender transitioning, were not told by their daughter’s school when she began using a male name and pronouns in the seventh grade. School officials did not tell them during parent-teacher meetings either, according to the ruling. 

The parents only learned about school officials encouraging their daughter’s transition when she began her eighth-grade year. She attempted suicide and was hospitalized. 

A doctor diagnosed her with gender dysphoria. 

The teenage girl was in and out of the hospital after her initial suicide attempt. School officials continued calling her by a male name and using male pronouns even after the fact, according to the court documents. 

Eventually, the parents put their daughter in therapy and began psychiatric care for her. 

Among the California public school policies were rules prohibiting teachers from telling parents if their children began going by a different name and gender. The rules also forced teachers to use those new names and pronouns when parents were not around. 

Lawyers for the state had argued that the policies were meant to give children a safe learning environment and ensure that they “can learn without fear of being outed to their parents before they are ready.”  

“The state argues that its policies advance a compelling interest in student safety and privacy,” the Supreme Court wrote in its decision. “But those policies cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents.” 

A federal judge had already struck down the California policy on Dec. 22, 2025. 

The California Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment about the Supreme Court’s March 2 ruling. 

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