California Education Department Faces Legal Scrutiny Over Transgender Directives
The California Department of Education (CDE) allegedly collaborated with 19 LGBTQ+ advocacy groups to implement transgender guidelines as part of a statewide teacher training requirement. However, the Thomas More Society (TMS) claims in court documents that these directives were supposedly rescinded.
TMS recently filed new court documents revealing findings from CDE’s online training course called “Providing Critically Relevant and Comprehensive Support for LGBTQ+ Students.” This training, as described by CDE, is intended for educators to enhance support for LGBTQ+ youth in the state.
In court, the CDE asserted that it had revoked a directive that forbade teachers from informing parents if a student wished to transition while at school. Previously, this directive was included on an FAQ page.
Yet, despite claiming that the FAQ page had been removed, TMS argues that the same information was simply relocated elsewhere, making it harder for plaintiffs to find. According to TMS, this appears to be an effort to mislead the court.
After examining PRISM’s materials, TMS found instructions suggesting that educators should keep students’ gender identities confidential from parents, continuing to enforce the Gender Confidentiality Policy.
Paul M. Jonah, a special counsel for TMS, expressed intentions to hold the CDE and California Attorney General Rob Bonta accountable for the distress caused to parents and educators. He emphasized that no sensible person would think it wise for the state to replace parents in such sensitive matters, indicating the policies could harm all parties involved.
Jonah further stated that these regulations are both dangerous and unconstitutional and predicted their elimination on behalf of concerned parents and teachers.
The TMS filing contends that not only did CDE uphold the controversial policy but that it also collaborated with numerous advocacy groups, including the ACLU and GLSEN, to promote similar directives.
PRISM’s training claims to equip educators with the tools to combat bullying and discrimination against LGBTQ+ students, while also encouraging advocacy for “gender-affirming” policies, referencing model policies from GLSEN.
In 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom enacted a law that prohibits educators from disclosing a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression unless required by law, making California the first state with such legislation.
In early 2025, the Trump administration initiated an investigation into CDE related to these safety laws, hinting at possible violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which protects parental access to educational records.
PRISM directs educators to various resources regarding students’ rights, including information from Our Family Coalition, which reiterates the need to respect students’ privacy without disclosing their LGBTQ+ status without permission.
This latest TMS filing follows a class action lawsuit, Mirabelli v. Olson, which was certified by Judge Roger Benitez. The lawsuit addresses the concerns of over 300,000 California public school teachers and parents of more than five million students opposing the concealment of children’s gender transitions.
The court has scheduled a summary judgment hearing for November 17th. CDE and Attorney General Bonta’s office have not yet responded to requests for comments.
