Reading Time: 2 minutes
Just before the end of 2025, a district judge in California gave his state one last answered prayer for the year. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez issued a permanent injunction, ruling against California’s policies requiring schools to withhold information from parents about students’ gender identities.
Visit your state page to pray.
From CBN:
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez has issued a permanent injunction against what he called “parental exclusion policies,” which required teachers to withhold information about a student’s gender expression unless the child consented.
The decision came in Mirabelli, et al. v. Olson, et al., a class-action lawsuit brought by parents and teachers represented by the Thomas More Society.
“Today’s incredible victory finally, and permanently, ends California’s dangerous and unconstitutional regime of gender secrecy policies in schools. The Court’s comprehensive ruling—granting summary judgment on all claims—protects all California parents, students, and teachers, and it restores sanity and common sense,” said Paul Jonna of the Thomas More Society.
This is the latest in a yearslong legal battle fought by Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori West, California teachers who were initially placed on administrative leave after refusing to withhold information from parents. We covered Mirabelli and West’s story, from the initial lawsuit to the certification of a class action suit late last year.
In his ruling, Judge Benitez delivered a scathing critique of California’s policies. He wrote that the state’s policies “harm the parents by depriving them of the long-recognized Fourteenth Amendment right to care, guide, and make health care decisions for their children,” and that they harm teachers by forcing them “to violate their sincerely held beliefs and the parents’ rights by forcing them to conceal information they feel is critical for the welfare of their students.” In conclusion, the judge found that “government speech that employs purposeful deception may not be forced upon teachers or parents.”
This legal battle never should have gone this far, although this permanent injunction could be the final nail in the case. However, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has vowed to fight the ruling. We’ll continue to share updates on this case if the Attorney General sees any success.
For now, however, let’s thank God for this victory, and let’s pray for parental rights to be protected across the nation!
Are you encouraged by this news? Share your prayers and praises below.
(Excerpt from CBN. Photo Credit: photobyphotoboy via Canva Teams)
