Appeals court pauses, for now, ruling that said California teachers can tell parents their child may be transgender

"A federal appeals court has temporarily paused enforcement of a San Diego federal judge's ruling that had cleared the way for school staff to tell parents about possible changes to their child's gender presentation without the student's consent. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a short-term administrative stay of the ruling but has not yet decided whether to grant a longer-term stay pending an appeal. It's expected to rule on that next week."

"The case, Mirabelli v. Olson, began in 2023 when two Escondido Union School District teachers sued over the district's policy, based on state guidance at the time, prohibiting employees from disclosing what it called a student's transgender or gender-nonconforming status absent the student's consent. The state has said that doing this risks outing a student who may be transgender or gender-nonconforming to their parents, creating an unsafe school environment and violating state privacy and non-discrimination laws."

"He said parents have a constitutional right, as part of their rights to raise and care for their children, to know about their child's gender presentation, and that they deserve to know if their child is gender nonconforming. Benitez also issued a permanent injunction barring California public school employees from misleading parents about their child's gender presentation at school for instance, by using different pronouns for a student with their parents than the student uses at school."

A federal appeals court temporarily paused enforcement of a San Diego federal judge's ruling that allowed school staff to inform parents about possible changes to their child's gender presentation without student consent. Mirabelli v. Olson began in 2023 when two Escondido Union School District teachers sued over a district policy, based on state guidance, that barred employees from disclosing a student's transgender or gender-nonconforming status without consent. The state argued such disclosure risks outing students and violating privacy and non-discrimination laws. Judge Roger Benitez ruled for the plaintiffs, affirmed parental constitutional rights to know, and issued a permanent injunction barring employees and the state from restricting staff disclosures. The 9th Circuit granted a short-term administrative stay and will consider a longer stay next week.

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