The United States Supreme Court on March 2 blocked a California state law that barred schools from bypassing a student’s consent to notify parents if children identify as transgender, the AP reported.
The ruling came as the state argued that the law protects children’s right to privacy and prevents schools from walking students to their families for fear of rejection. Conservative and religious groups in opposition pushed for increased parental controls, arguing that the law caused schools to introduce them and secretly facilitate their children’s social transition.
Two groups of Catholic parents represented by the Thomas More Society and some educators challenged the California school policy. Notably, the hearing is still ongoing.
What did the SC decide about California law?
The SC order, which was a split decision, reinstated a lower court order that blocked a California law that barred automatic parental notification obligations if students change their pronouns or gender expression at school, the report said.
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“Parents asserting the right to free exercise have sincerely held religious beliefs about sex and gender and feel a religious obligation to raise their children in accordance with those beliefs. California’s policy violates those beliefs,” and burdens the free exercise of religion, the majority wrote in the unsigned order.
Three liberal SC judges publicly dissented, saying the case was still going through the lower courts and there was no need to intervene now. “If nothing else, this Court owes it to a sovereign state to avoid overturning its policies in foolish ways if the Court can provide normal procedures. And overturning state policy is what the Court is doing today,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote.
Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, meanwhile, noted that they would go further and accommodate teachers to lift the restrictions for them.
What were the reactions?
The Thomas More Society called the decision “the most significant parental rights ruling in a generation”.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office defended the law, saying teachers should focus on teaching and not “being gender police.” Marissa Saldivar, a spokeswoman for the Democratic governor, told the AP that the order “undermines students’ privacy and ability to learn in a safe and supportive classroom, free of discrimination based on gender identity.”
How has SCOTUS previously ruled in similar cases?
The Supreme Court has ruled for religious plaintiffs in other recent cases, including allowing parents to pull their children out of public school classes if they object to storybooks with LGBTQ characters.
The California order comes months after a court upheld state bans on gender identity-related health care for minors. The justices also appear to be leaning toward allowing states to ban transgender athletes from playing on girls’ sports teams.
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Meanwhile, school policies for transgender students have been on the court’s radar in other cases as well.
The court dismissed another similar case from Wisconsin in December, but three conservative justices indicated they would hear the case. Justice Samuel Alito called school policy “an issue of great and growing national importance.”
The justices were considering whether to hear arguments in cases from states such as Massachusetts and Florida brought by other parents who say schools facilitated the social transition without informing them.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration found in January that the California policy violated parents’ right to access their children’s education records. The Justice Department also sued after ruling that the states’ transgender athlete policies violated federal civil rights law.
Key things
- The Supreme Court decision underscores the tension between parental rights and the privacy rights of transgender students.
- The ruling may set a precedent for future cases involving parental notification and education policies related to gender identity.
- Ongoing legal battles suggest that the issue of transgender rights in schools will remain a contentious issue in the US
