{"id":2575363,"date":"2026-03-02T20:37:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T01:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-blocks-california-school-policy-hiding-kids-gender-presentation-from-parents\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T20:41:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T01:41:23","slug":"scotus-blocks-california-school-policy-hiding-kids-gender-presentation-from-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-blocks-california-school-policy-hiding-kids-gender-presentation-from-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS: CA Can&#8217;t Hide Kids&#8217; &#8216;Gender Presentation&#8217; From Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fscotus-blocks-california-school-policy-hiding-kids-gender-presentation-from-parents%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2575363&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>the U.S. Supreme Court granted interim relief to California parents challenging a state policy that would require or allow school staff to inform parents about their child\u2019s gender presentation. In a per curiam order,the Court vacated the Ninth Circuit\u2019s stay of District Judge Roger Benitez\u2019s December injunction,wich barred enforcement of the policy and required notices to staff and materials acknowledging parents\u2019 federal right to be informed if their child expresses gender incongruence. The Ninth Circuit had frozen the injunction, but the Supreme Court ruled that the parents are likely to succeed on the merits and would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maryland-governors-effort-to-end-unemployment-benefits-blocked-by-judge\/\" title=\"Maryland Governor\u2019s Effort To End Unemployment Benefits Blocked By Judge\">suffer irreparable harm<\/a> if the stay remained. The ruling applies only to the parents; the plaintiffs who are teachers are not covered. Justices Thomas and Alito would have granted broader relief,while Justices Sotomayor,Kagan,and Jackson dissented. Justice Barrett wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Chief Justice roberts and Justice Kavanaugh, arguing the policy excludes parents from critically important mental-health decisions and is unlikely to satisfy heightened scrutiny. The article notes a prior supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/faith-group-provides-tools-for-parents-to-opt-out-of-lgbt-curriculum\/\" title=\"Faith group provides tools for ... to opt out of LGBT curriculum\">affirmed parental rights<\/a> regarding school matters.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major win for California parents seeking to protect their children from LGBT ideology in state schools on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>In its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/25a810_b97d.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">per curiam opinion<\/a>, the high court vacated a stay (&ldquo;pause&rdquo;) issued by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on a December injunction by a California-based district court judge. That <a href=\"https:\/\/cases.justia.com\/federal\/district-courts\/california\/casdce\/3:2023cv00768\/757886\/308\/0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">permanent injunction<\/a> prohibited enforcement of a California policy that permitted or forced school employees to &ldquo;mislead[] the parent or guardian of a minor child in the education system about their child&rsquo;s gender presentation at school.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In his order, District Judge Roger Benitez, a Bush 43 appointee, further required California officials to notify school personnel of his ruling and to include in materials for parents and faculty a statement acknowledging parents&rsquo; &ldquo;federal constitutional right to be informed if their <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >public school student child expresses gender incongruence<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>California parents&rsquo; victory was short-lived, however, because the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals froze Benitez&rsquo;s order a few weeks later. In its <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.prod.website-files.com\/63d954d4e4ad424df7819d46\/695d46b36a0be201a62e2ab3_26-01-05%20-%20Mirabelli%2C%20et%20al.%20v.%20Bonta%2C%20et%20al.%20-%20ORDER%20FILED.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unanimous ruling<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-nukes-bidens-unlawful-student-loan-bailout-again\/\" title=\"SCOTUS Nukes Biden&#039;s Unlawful Student Loan Bailout \u2014 Again\">appellate court&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s three-judge panel of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/policy-politics\/appeals-court-blocks-ruling-bolstering-parental-rights-over-gender-identity\/2026\/01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democrat appointees<\/a> claimed that state officials &ldquo;have shown that &lsquo;there is a substantial case for relief on the merits,&rsquo;&rdquo; and said it was &ldquo;skeptical of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-appeals-court-hands-texas-a-major-border-win-over-the-biden-administration\/\" title=\"Federal Appeals ... Hands Texas a Major B... Win Over the Biden Administration\">district court&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s decision on the merits.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The 9th Circuit&rsquo;s decision prompted plaintiffs to file an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25A810\/391182\/20260108173157813_Emergency%20Appl.%20for%20Stay%20of%20Interlocutory%20Order%20-%20Mirabelli%20v.%20Bonta.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">application<\/a> with SCOTUS, in which they requested that the high court vacate the 9th Circuit&rsquo;s stay and allow Benitez&rsquo;s injunction to take effect. <\/p>\n<p>In its unsigned opinion, SCOTUS granted the plaintiffs&rsquo; request to vacate the 9th Circuit&rsquo;s injunction &ldquo;with respect to the parents because this aspect of the stay is not &lsquo;justified under the governing four-factor test.&rsquo;&rdquo; The high court noted that the parents are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims and that they will suffer &ldquo;irreparable harm&rdquo; if the 9th Circuit&rsquo;s ruling is allowed to remain in place.<\/p>\n<p>The court&rsquo;s order does not apply to the plaintiff teachers suing over the policy, however. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said they would have granted the plaintiffs&rsquo; application in full. <\/p>\n<p>Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. <\/p>\n<p>Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored a concurring opinion, in which she was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She noted how &ldquo;California&rsquo;s nondisclosure policy thus quite obviously excludes parents from highly important decisions about their child&rsquo;s mental health &hellip; and is unlikely to satisfy heightened scrutiny.&rdquo; She also stated that the court&rsquo;s &ldquo;resolution of the parents&rsquo; likelihood of success on this claim is dictated by existing law.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Trump appointee went on to rebuke criticisms raised by the dissent, which, as summarized by Barrett, claimed that Monday&rsquo;s ruling is &ldquo;a sign of the Court&rsquo;s &lsquo;impatience&rsquo; to reach [a decision on] the merits.&rdquo; She noted how the Supreme Court&rsquo;s &ldquo;<em>per curiam<\/em> opinion &hellip; explains its reasoning.&rdquo; She also wrote that the &ldquo;choice to say more rather than less is perhaps the source of the dissent&rsquo;s concern that our disposition of this application will be taken as a &lsquo;conclusive merits judgment.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Interim applications routinely require the Court to balance the lock-in risk of saying too much against the transparency cost of saying too little,&rdquo; Barrett wrote. &ldquo;When an interim application comes to us, &lsquo;we must decide it &mdash; grant or deny.&rsquo; &hellip; Because the &hellip; factors strongly favor the parents &hellip; I see no basis for denying this application.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In her dissenting opinion, Kagan (joined by Jackson) claimed that the court&rsquo;s decision to grant the parents interim relief is an example of &ldquo;how [its] emergency docket can malfunction.&rdquo; The Obama appointee attacked the court, contending that it bypassed the &ldquo;ordinary appellate process&rdquo; and granted &ldquo;relief by means of a terse, tonally dismissive ruling designed to conclusively resolve the dispute.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Court is impatient: It already knows what it thinks, and insists on getting everything over quickly,&rdquo; Kagan wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Monday&rsquo;s decision comes several months after the Supreme Court affirmed parental rights in <em>Mahmoud v. Taylor<\/em>. In that 6-3 <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/27\/supreme-court-allows-parents-to-opt-children-out-of-lgbt-propaganda-in-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruling<\/a>, the justices confirmed that parents possess the authority to opt their children out of LGBT propaganda pushed by schools.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SCOTUS sides with parents on school gender policy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2575364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Students.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4045,33417,51294,34304,6994],"class_list":["post-2575363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-california","tag-gender-identity","tag-lgbtq-2","tag-parental-rights","tag-scotus"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Students.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2575363"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2575367,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2575363\/revisions\/2575367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2575364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2575363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2575363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2575363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}