PJI Backs Parents and Teachers Fighting California’s Gender Secrecy Policies

Friend-of-the-court brief urges Ninth Circuit to protect parental rights and teachers who refuse to keep a child's gender transition secret

SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Mirabelli v. Bonta, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to uphold constitutional protections for parents and teachers challenging California policies that restrict communication with parents about a child's gender identity at school.

PJI filed the brief on behalf of Truth In Education, a Christian advocacy organization focused on protecting children and parental rights in public schools. The brief supports the parents and teachers challenging California's policies and asks the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court's ruling protecting school employees who disclose a student's requested name or pronouns to the student's parents.

The filing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in the case earlier this year. In March, the Supreme Court lifted a Ninth Circuit stay of the district court's injunction as it applies to parents, concluding that parents seeking religious exemptions were likely to succeed on their claims under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and that the challenged policies likely violated parents' rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case has since returned to the Ninth Circuit, where the appeal continues.

Mirabelli began after two California public school teachers challenged policies requiring them to conceal information from parents about a student's gender transition at school. Parents later joined the lawsuit, including families who alleged that schools withheld information about their children's use of different names and pronouns.

In December 2025, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez granted summary judgment for the parents and teachers and issued a permanent injunction against the challenged policies. The Ninth Circuit stayed that injunction pending appeal before the Supreme Court partially lifted the stay in March.

The Supreme Court concluded that California's policies likely substantially interfere with the right of parents to guide the religious upbringing of their children. The Court also pointed to longstanding precedent recognizing that parents have primary authority over the upbringing and education of their children.

PJI's amicus brief asks the Ninth Circuit to uphold the district court's protections for teachers as well. It argues that forcing educators to remain silent can prevent parents from learning about significant changes in their children's behavior and places teachers in the position of choosing between their professional obligations and their First Amendment rights.

"Government policies that require teachers to conceal life-altering information about children from their parents weave deception into the fabric of public education," said PJI Attorney Kevin Snider, who represents Truth In Education. "This state-imposed dishonesty, which comes as a job requirement for school employees, is nothing less than a systemic moral failure in our public schools."

The brief argues that teachers often observe changes in a student's behavior before others do because of the amount of time children spend at school. Policies that threaten teachers with professional consequences for communicating with parents can discourage them from reporting concerns about a child's well-being.

The brief also argues that secrecy requirements can weaken trust between families and public schools. Truth In Education maintains that parents, teachers and school administrators should be able to communicate openly about issues affecting a child's education and welfare. The organization supports the district court's ruling because it protects parents' access to information while allowing teachers to communicate truthfully with them.

The brief further raises child-safety concerns about policies requiring adults at school to keep sensitive conversations secret from parents. Citing research and government materials concerning child sexual exploitation and grooming, TIE argues that policies normalizing secrecy between children and trusted adults can create unnecessary risks for vulnerable students.

PJI's filing also emphasizes the constitutional rights of teachers. The brief points to educators in the Mirabelli record who said that deceiving parents about a child's gender transition would violate their religious beliefs. PJI argues that public school employees should not have to choose between remaining in their profession and acting according to their conscience.

PJI Founder and President Brad Dacus said the case could have consequences for families and teachers throughout California.

"Parents have a constitutional right to guide the upbringing of their children, and teachers should not be ordered to keep parents in the dark," Dacus said. "The Supreme Court has already recognized the serious constitutional problems with policies that exclude parents from decisions affecting their children. PJI stands with Truth In Education to ensure that parents remain involved and teachers remain free to act according to their constitutional rights."

The Supreme Court's March 2 decision left the Ninth Circuit to continue considering the appeal. The Aug. 27 amicus brief urges the appellate court to affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment protecting school employees who disclose a student's requested name or pronouns to parents and to uphold the permanent injunction enforcing those protections.

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