Supreme Court blocks California law that stopped schools from telling parents if their kid is transgender

The Supreme Court on Monday blocked a law that prevents California schools from telling parents if their child comes out as transgender, after granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group.

The order for now blocks a state law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July 2024 that made California the first state to bar school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s gender identification.

The ruling also blocks a rule that required teachers to use a student’s preferred pronouns.

Monday’s granting of an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group comes after many parents and teachers challenged the law.

The Thomas More Society, representing two sets of Catholic parents, argued the law causes schools to mislead them and secretly facilitates gender transition in minors.

But the Supreme Court did not grant a similar request made by parents who object to the law.

“We conclude that the parents who seek religious exemptions are likely to succeed on the merits of their Free Exercise Clause claim,” the court said in an unsigned opinion, after a 6-3 vote on ideological lines.

“The parents who assert a free exercise claim have sincere religious beliefs about sex and gender, and they feel a religious obligation to raise their children in accordance with those beliefs,” the court said.

“California’s policy of hiding a child’s gender transition from mom and dad was not only unconstitutional, but it was also dangerous. No school should ever place ideology above a child’s well-being or a parent’s God-given authority. This decision sends a powerful message: the Constitution still protects families, and California schools are not above the law,” California Family Council Vice President Greg Burt told The Post.

Liberal Justices Ketanji Brown, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

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California argued students have a right to privacy about their gender expression, and that the law balances that with parents’ rights.

“Currently, under California’s laws and constitutional provisions on privacy and antidiscrimination, schools may balance parental interests with students’ particular needs and circumstances, such as the risk of harm upon disclosure of the student’s gender identity without student consent,” lawyers for the state wrote.

But the Trump administration in January found that California’s policies violated parents’ right to access their children’s education records.

The Justice Department also sued after determining that the states’ transgender athlete policies violate federal civil rights law.

“This is a landmark win for parental rights!” Indiana Senator Jim Banks said.

“Parents, not schools, should decide what’s best for their kids,” California Gubernatorial candidate, Serge Fiankan, added on social media.

Trump’s former White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, called the decision a “big win for parents.”

It comes just months after the Supreme Court upheld state bans on gender-identity-related healthcare for minors.

“This is a historic just a win for parents and a precedent that puts every secret gender transition policy in America on notice,” the Thomas More Society said in a statement following the verdict, which was celebrated by many Republicans.