(The National Desk)—Legal advocacy group the Liberty Justice Center announced Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit challenging a new California law pertaining to K-12 students’ gender identities.
AB 1955 makes it illegal for school districts to create policies requiring teachers to notify parents of their children’s gender identity. The bill was signed into law Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom after pushback and will go into effect Jan. 1.
Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Emily Rae told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) the measure represents an infringement on parents’ constitutional rights.
“Under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, there is a fundamental right to parent,” she said. “That means for the last 100+ years, the Supreme Court has said ‘a parent has the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children.’”
“This law violates that right,” she added. “It takes that power away from parents.”
The measure most notably drew the ire of X owner Elon Musk, who threatened to relocate his companies from California in a heated exchange with Gov. Newsom. Rae cheered the move and encouraged others to follow suit.
“Newsom’s policies are pushing people out of California,” she said. “I actually applaud Elon for making that major announcement, and I think he’s just projecting what so many Californians feel — that they’re sick and tired of these anti-parent and anti-family policies.”