A California court has issued a ruling in favor of parents’ rights, upholding a local school district’s policies against a special interest group’s attempted legal challenge.
In 2023, a group of political activists filed a lawsuit against the Temecula Valley Unified School District. The lawsuit, Mae M. v. Komrosky, aims to challenge a policy requiring teachers to inform parents if their children socially transition and a resolution prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) in the classroom.
The Liberty Justice Center filed an amicus brief in Mae M. v. Komrosky on behalf of the Chino Valley Unified School District, in support of the defendants’ opposition to the preliminary injunction. The Liberty Justice Center is representing the Chino Valley Unified School District in its own legal battle to defend its parental notification policy against California Attorney General Rob Bonta, California v. Chino Valley Unified School District.
On February 23, the Riverside Superior Court issued a ruling on the motion for a preliminary injunction in favor of the Temecula Valley Unified School District, affirming the District’s parental notification policy as well as the resolution on CRT.
The Liberty Justice Center’s amicus brief challenges the plaintiffs’ attempts to prohibit school administrators from communicating with parents about the health and safety of their children, noting that parents are part of the district’s intervention plan in cases of physical or mental health crises. The brief further argues that parents need to be involved when their children experience gender incongruence, stating that parents cannot replaced by administrators and should not be kept in the dark about how best to care for their children.
“Parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing is essential, not negotiable. The Liberty Justice Center and the Chino Valley Unified School District stand with other California school districts who aim to protect parental rights, and applaud the Court’s decision to uphold the Temecula Valley Unified School District’s parental notification policy,” said Senior Counsel Emily Rae.
The Liberty Justice Center’s amicus brief in Mae M. v. Komrosky is available here.