Coalition urges 9th Circuit to uphold parental rights

The Center Square ^ | 09/04/2026 | Esther Wickham

[thegagline]

A coalition of 17 states, lawmakers and advocacy organizations has filed 12 friend-of-the-court briefs urging the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold that parents and teachers have constitutional rights to know about their children despite public school gender policies.

The briefs were filed in Mirabelli v. Bonta, a case involving California’s “Parental Exclusion Policies,” which the Thomas More Society led as counsel for a class of parents and teachers challenging the policies.

In December, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez issued a permanent injunction blocking the policies, saying that parents have the right to know and public schools cannot socially transition students’ gender while withholding that information from their parents.

The 9th Circuit, which is based in San Francisco, later stayed the injunction. In March, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the stay in a 6-3 decision***

California has continued its appeal, and Thomas More Society filed an answering brief at the end of August urging the 9th Circuit to affirm the injunction. According to the Thomas More Society, California is continuing to argue that parents do not have a right to know about their child’s gender identity unless they specifically ask.

“California’s response to the Supreme Court is not nuanced,” the brief stated. “In doubling down on exactly the same arguments the Supreme Court rejected, California’s audacious request is that this Court override the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case.”

“The Supreme Court already told California that its gender secrecy policy cannot stand.” *** “[O]ur Constitution places the burden on States to respect fundamental rights, not on citizens to claw back the right to parent their own children after their express demands are flatly rejected. The decision below inverts this constitutional reality,” the states' brief said.

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TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: austinliberal; control; freedom; jewhater; parents; thestate

[thegagline]

The fact that this is even an issue shows how insidious and unhinged the left has become. On top of that, California taxpayers are financing the government’s efforts to divest parents of their role in raising their children. It’s sick out there—and getting sicker.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Apparently in California, schools have a policy of concealing from parents, if their child shows signs of gender dysphoria.

Is there any other medical or mental condition, observed by school personnel, which would be intentionally concealed from parents?

Just wondering if there’s any consistency in policies regarding when they inform parents about trouble that their child is having.