PRESS RELEASE: DFI Urges Ninth Circuit to Reject School Policies That Hide Gender Transitions from Parents

WASHINGTON—The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies (DFI) filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit urging the court to reverse a lower court decision allowing a California school district to keep parents in the dark when students socially transition at school.

The case, Regino v. Blake, challenges a district policy that permits school staff to facilitate a student’s gender transition, including the use of new names and pronouns, without notifying parents.

In its brief, DFI argues that such policies violate longstanding constitutional protections recognizing parents as the primary decision-makers in their children’s lives.

The brief also argues that parents cannot exercise their constitutional responsibilities if schools deliberately withhold critical information about their children.

DFI’s filing explains that recent Supreme Court rulings in Mirabelli v. Bonta and Mahmoud v. Taylor have reaffirmed the constitutional principle that parents must be able to participate in significant decisions affecting their children’s well-being.

“Schools cannot deliberately keep parents in the dark about major developments in their child’s life,” said Don Daugherty, Senior Litigation Counsel at DFI. “The Constitution, and the courts for that matter, have long recognized that parents, not government officials, have the primary responsibility for raising and guiding their children. Policies that intentionally exclude parents from those decisions turn that principle on its head.”

The brief further argues that the policy forces parents into an unconstitutional choice: either send their children to private school or surrender their right to be informed about critical issues affecting their child’s identity and well-being.

DFI urges the Ninth Circuit to reverse the lower court decision and reaffirm that schools cannot exclude parents from major decisions affecting their children.

To read the brief, click here.