Supreme Court Blocks California Policy That Prohibited Outing Trans Kids

The case, Mirabelli v. Bonta, focused on whether parents can be notified if their child expresses gender nonconformity or changes pronouns at school.

The Supreme Court on Monday blocked California from enforcing a policy that restricted schools from informing parents if their child expresses gender nonconformity or attempts to change their name or pronouns.

The ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta, a case on the court’s emergency, or “shadow,” docket, centered on children’s expressions of gender in schools. In an unsigned opinion, the court reinstated a lower court’s ruling that would have schools inform parents about their child’s gender expression.

However, the opinion was not unanimous, as is the norm for unsigned opinions: Instead, it appeared split 6-3 along ideological lines, with all three liberal justices dissenting.

“The parents who assert a free exercise claim have sincere religious beliefs about sex and gender, and they feel a religious obligation to raise their children in accordance with those beliefs. California’s policies violate those beliefs,” the opinion read. The court also cited its own previous decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which allowed parents to opt their children out of elementary school curricula that include books with LGBTQ+ themes.

The case challenged a 2024 California law that states public school employees do not have to disclose any information about a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity or expression to anyone without the student’s consent. The law, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, was the first in the nation to ban forced outing policies in schools, in contrast to a slate of anti-trans laws in other states that require schools to inform parents about a child’s gender identity.