ACLU Statement on Ruling in Mirabelli v. Olson

LOS ANGELES – On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ruled that laws and policies protecting LGBTQ+ public school students from forced outing to their families violate the U.S. Constitution. The state has asked to pause the ruling pending appeal.

The case, Mirabelli v. Olson, is a class action lawsuit on behalf of all public school employees and parents statewide who object on religious or ideological grounds to the implementation of California laws prohibiting outing of LGBTQ+ students to their parents without their consent and allowing students to choose the name and pronouns they go by at school. Judge Roger Benitez held that these provisions conflict with parents’ and teachers’ rights to free exercise of their religious faith as well as parents’ due process rights.

Trans and gender nonconforming students across California are now at risk of being outed to their parents by their teachers and other school staff due to the ruling, which bars the California Department of Education, Office of the Attorney General, and State Board of Education from taking enforcement action or other steps to address outing by educators. The ruling further prohibits educators from using a student’s chosen name or pronouns if the student’s parent objects.

In response, Christine Parker, senior staff attorney with the Gender, Sexuality, and Reproductive Justice Project at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, issued the following:

“This decision denies the realities the California Legislature recognized when it adopted the SAFETY Act last year, and the Student Success and Opportunity Act back in 2013, to help ensure all students feel safe and respected at school, even if they are not ready or able to be out at home or are navigating a less-than-supportive family dynamic. A culture of outing harms everyone—students, families, and school staff alike—by removing opportunities to build trust. LGBTQ+ students deserve to decide on their own terms if, when, and how to come out, and to be able to be themselves at school.

Rather than focus on ensuring all students receive the best education they can, these efforts seek to exploit lack of familiarity with transgender people, spread misinformation, and disrupt trust within our school communities. This case is part of a nationwide, coordinated attack on trans people and all those who stand up for trans youth. California must remain steadfast in its commitment to supporting trans youth and we look forward to seeing state leaders stand up for trans and gender nonconforming students by promptly pursuing an appeal.

We will continue fighting to ensure that students of all races, backgrounds, sexual orientations, and genders feel safe, supported, and affirmed at school.”