A San Diego federal judge has blocked California school policies prohibiting teachers from sharing students’ preferred gender identities with their parents. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez granted summary judgment Monday in the case originally filed by two teachers from Rincon Middle School i n Escondido who sued over Escondido Union School District policies requiring them to use pronouns or gender-specific names requested by students, while keeping that information private from others, including the students’ parents. Sep 15, 2023 Judge grants injunction favoring Escondido teachers who sued over student gender-identity policy Escondido Apr 28, 2023 Escondido Middle School Teachers Sue Over District's Transgender Pronoun Policy In his ruling, Benitez likened the practice to teachers declining to share students’ physical injuries or other health-related concerns with parents. “When it comes to a student’s change in gender identity, California state policymakers apparently do not trust parents to do the right thing for their child,” Benitez wrote. Attorneys for the state of California have argued keeping such information private protects students from potential discrimination, abuse and harassment. Benitez wrote that California’s efforts “to protect vulnerable children from harassment and discrimination is laudable,” but said the parental exclusion policies ultimately harm children, parents and teachers. He also wrote that the policies violate parents’ Fourteenth Amendment rights “to care, guide, and make health care decisions for their children” and the First Amendment rights of both parents and teachers to exercise their religious beliefs. Paul Jonna, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said the ruling “ends California’s dangerous and unconstitutional regime of gender secrecy policies in schools” and “protects all California parents, students, and teachers, and it restores sanity and common sense.” The California Attorney General’s Office has filed an application to stay Benitez’s order, pending an appeal. In their filings, the state argues “the severe public harms associated with nonconsensual disclosure of a student’s private gender identity information weigh strongly in favor of stay” and that without a stay, “teachers and school officials could begin informing parents about students’ gender identities in ways that threaten substantial harm to students. Once that occurs, the harm is irreparable. The information cannot be un-disclosed.” In a statement, the AG’s Office said, “We believe that the district court misapplied the law and that the decision will ultimately be reversed on appeal. We are committed to securing school environments that allow transgender students to safely participate as their authentic selves while recognizing the important role that parents play in students’ lives.” The ACLU Foundation of Southern California said in a statement that the ruling places transgender and gender nonconforming students at risk of being outed while they are in unsupportive home environments. The organization said the ruling also undermines legislative efforts such as the SAFETY Act signed into law last year, which sought to ban school district policies that lead to forcibly outing LGBTQIA+ students. “Rather than focus on ensuring all students receive the best education they can, these efforts seek to exploit lack of familiarity with transgender people, spread misinformation, and disrupt trust within our school communities,” said Christine Parker, senior staff attorney with the Gender, Sexuality, and Reproductive Justice Project at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. “This case is part of a nationwide, coordinated attack on trans people and all those who stand up for trans youth. California must remain steadfast in its commitment to supporting trans youth and we look forward to seeing state leaders stand up for trans and gender nonconforming students by promptly pursuing an appeal.” ...read more read less