(Courthouse News Service)—A federal judge in California has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit filed by religious parents and conservative school districts aimed at blocking a new state law that prohibits school districts from adopting policies that notify parents when a student starts going by a different name or using different pronouns at school.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Calabretta, a Joe Biden appointee, on Friday found the plaintiffs lack standing to sue.
The parents, he wrote in his 16-page ruling, “have not shown that they have suffered or will imminently suffer any form of harm as a result the Act. For example, Plaintiff Parents do not allege that their own child has gone or goes by a different name at school, that their children’s school has deprived the parents of relevant information about their child, or that this is something that is likely to happen in the future.”
As for the school districts, Calbretta wrote, they are “political subdivisions of the state” and therefore “lack standing to challenge state law on federal constitutional grounds,” citing precedent set by the Ninth Circuit.
“We are disappointed with the Court’s ruling and are weighing our options for next steps, including appealing the decision to the Ninth Circuit,” Emily Rae, plaintiffs’ attorney and senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, said in a written statement. “We will continue to fight for parents’ rights as the legal guardians of their children.”
California in July 2024 became the first state in the union to ban what LGBTQ+ activists call forced outing, after Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1955, dubbed the SAFETY Act. The law was passed in part as a response to several school districts that had implemented parental-notification policies, including Chino Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County. California sued Chino Valley to block the policy, and a judge last year sided with the state.
Critics of these parental-notification policies say they lead to discrimination and bullying and that students have the right to be identified by whatever names or pronouns they want. But others argue that changing one’s pronoun is the first step toward gender transitioning — a big decision they say parents have the right to be involved in.
Along with the Orange County Board of Education and the Anderson Union High School District, Chino Valley was among the three school districts to sue in an attempt to overturn AB 1955.
They were joined by eight parents, who say they are “devout Christians and believe that God created man and woman as distinct, immutable genders.” Those parents argue the law interferes with a parent’s right to control their child’s upbringing.
“If a student breaks their arm, hits their head, or develops a fever, the school will immediately tell the student’s parents,” the plaintiffs wrote in their complaint. “If a student expresses a desire to hurt or kill themself, the school will tell the parents. So, too, must a school tell parents if a student has asked the school to participate in that student’s gender transition.”
The plaintiffs also said AB 1955 restricted parents’ First Amendment right to practice their own religion and that it conflicted with a federal law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Aside from ruling that the plaintiffs lacked standing, Calabretta also found that AB 1955 isn’t preempted, because it “has an explicit carveout for any conflict with federal law.”
The judge will let the parents refile an amended version of their complaint — but not the school districts.