Two Christian teachers have helped win a massive legal victory for religious freedom in American education — in a Californian class action lawsuit.
A judge ruled that schools can no longer deceive parents, or force teachers to keep parents in the dark, about a student’s gender confusion.
He declared the practice to be “unconstitutional” and issued a permanent injunction against what he called “parental exclusion policies.”
It was redemption for Christian teachers Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori West who were placed on administrative leave — after refusing to withhold information from parents because of their faith.
“THIS VICTORY ENDS CALIFORNIA’S GENDER SECRECY POLICIES IN SCHOOLS”
US District Judge Roger Benitez made the landmark ruling in a class-action brought by parents and teachers, including Ms. Mirabelli and Ms. West, who were represented by Christian lawyers from the Thomas More Society (TMS)
The lawsuit opposed school policies which required teachers to withhold information about a student’s gender expression unless the child consented.
“Today’s incredible victory finally, and permanently, ends California’s dangerous and unconstitutional regime of gender secrecy policies in schools,” said Special Counsel Paul Jonna of TMS.
“The Court’s comprehensive ruling — granting summary judgment on all claims — protects all California parents, students, and teachers, and it restores sanity and common sense,” he added.
“PARENTAL EXCLUSION POLICIES HARM PARENTS AND VIOLATE THEIR RIGHTS”
Judge Benitez stated that California’s parental exclusion policies “harm the parents by depriving them of the long-recognized Fourteenth Amendment right to care, guide, and make health care decisions for their children, and by substantially burdening many parents’ First Amendment right to train their children in their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
His judgement found that teachers were “compelled to violate their sincerely held beliefs and the parents’ rights by forcing them to conceal information they feel is critical for the welfare of their students.”
Judge Benitez also criticised state officials, writing: “California’s education policymakers … misperceive federal constitutional rights belonging to parents as weak-kneed and frail and subservient to the student’s right to privacy.”
SIMILAR SECRECY POLICIES EXIST IN 1215 US SCHOOL DISTRICTS
“Yet, under federal constitutional law, ‘parents retain a substantial, if not the dominant, role.’”
The judge noted that the policies treated parents as “harassers from whom students need to be protected,” and concluded that “government speech that employs purposeful deception may not be forced upon teachers or parents.”
CBN News reports: “The grassroots group Defending Education has discovered that similar secrecy policies exist in at least 1,215 school districts across 37 American states, affecting more than 21,000 schools and 12 million students.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is fighting the ruling, saying: “We believe that the district court misapplied the law and that the decision will ultimately be reversed on appeal.”
“PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE NO BUSINESS KEEPING HARMFUL SECRETS FROM PARENTS”
The founder and chairman of Christian legal advocates Liberty Counsel Mat Staver weighed in on the case, saying: “Public schools have no business keeping harmful secrets from parents.”
“Requiring teachers to be dishonest with parents in the course of their job was an unconscionable decision by California school officials.”
“Moreover, parents have the right to direct the upbringing of their children.”
“Gender secrecy policies put teachers and parents at odds when they should be united toward a child’s well-being.”
“ALL PARENTAL EXCLUSION POLICIES SHOULD BE ELIMINATED”
“All parental exclusion policies should be eliminated nationwide,” Mr. Staver declared.
Greg Burt of the California Family Council agreed, explaining: “The state told schools they had to keep secrets from mums and dads, and that was never true.”
“A federal judge has now made it unmistakably clear:”
“Children do not belong to the government, parents have the right to know what’s happening with their own kids, and teachers should never be forced to lie or stay silent to keep their jobs.”
JUDGE: “GENDER SECRECY CREATES A TRIFECTA OF HARM”
CBN News reported that Judge Benitez had issued a forceful statement in his preliminary ruling in 2024, declaring that the school’s gender secrecy policy undermines constitutional rights, calling it a “trifecta of harm” against children, parents, and teachers.
“It harms the child who needs parental guidance and possibly mental health intervention to determine if the incongruence is organic or whether it is the result of bullying, peer pressure, or a fleeting impulse.”
“It harms the parents by depriving them of the long-recognized Fourteenth Amendment right to care, guide, and make health care decisions for their children.”
“It harms plaintiffs who are compelled to violate the parent’s rights by forcing plaintiffs to conceal information they feel is critical for the welfare of their students — violating plaintiffs’ religious beliefs.”
TEACHERS’ ORDEAL
Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West were reinstated after being placed on paid administrative leave for more than six months.
The pair sued their school in Escondido near San Diego after refusing to withhold information from parents about their children’s gender issues at school, because of their religious beliefs.
They claimed the school’s policy forcing teachers and other staff to do so, was unconstitutional.
School counselors were assigned to help students transition with a “gender support plan” and would notify staff about which students were transitioning and instructed them on how to keep the information hidden from their parents, according to the California Family Council.
HOW FAITH INFLUENCED THE TEACHERS
The school refused a request by Ms. Mirabelli and Ms. West for a religious accommodation against the policy.
“It put me in a situation which takes us to the issue of faith. I have some core beliefs that are based on the Judeo-Christian tradition,” Ms. Mirabelli explained to CBN News.
“I’m really clear about certain things that are right and wrong, and one of those things would be withholding material information about the welfare of a child from their parents.”
“I was unwilling to do that.”
TEACHERS BEL,IEVED IN KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH PARENTS
“I realised quickly that I was in a really rough space because I keep in regular contact with parents.”
“I like to keep them up to date on any concerns that I have, whether they’re academic, or behavioral, social, emotional.”
“But I knew that teachers were getting in trouble for speaking out,” Ms. Mirabelli added.
She and Ms. West were then put on administrative leave for questioning the policy.
“SCHOOL WANTED TO PUT US DOWN AND STIFLE OUR VOICES BECAUSE OF OUR FAITH”
“I believe in the teachings of the Bible. We follow the laws in the Bible, and that’s a wonderful thing,” Ms. West told Fox News.
“And it seems like, at my school, we have been put down for that. They wanted to stifle our voices.”
The pair contacted the Thomas More Society whose attorneys filed a federal complaint against the school district and the state board.
Judge Benitez also heard that case and ordered the reinstatement of the teachers which was initially ignored by the school.
The school eventually complied after he reissued the order.
STATE OF CALIFORNIA STILL BELIEVES SECRECY IS RIGHT.
The Californian government continues to claim that requiring staff to notify parents of gender transitions, violates the state constitution.
Thomas More Society’s Paul Jonna observed: “The State of California and the Escondido Union School District have created an unconscionable scenario where it pits two key influencers in a child’s life against one another by putting up an intentional curtain of dishonesty between them.”
The post Christian Teachers Win Landmark Ruling For California appeared first on Vision Christian Media.