CITIZENS NEWS

Two San Diego, California, teachers have taken legal action against California Governor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta for forcing them to conceal the transgender status of young students from their parents. Newsom signed several laws in September that expanded protections for LGBT individuals in California. Among these laws are measures establishing timelines for cultural competency training for public school teachers and staff; creating an advisory body for LGBT student needs; and requiring gender-neutral bathrooms in elementary and secondary schools. (Related: They're coming for your CHILDREN: California Governor Gavin Newsom signs “anti-parent” law.)

Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West, both devout Christians, originally filed the legal complaint in April 2023 against the Escondido Union School District (EUSD) and California State Board of Education officials. But on Jan. 29, the two teachers amended their complaint and added Newsom and Bonta as defendants. "That leads to the conclusion that the state, and therefore, the governor is the driving force behind the violation of Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West’s constitutional rights," the lawsuit read. According to the lawsuit, the policies allegedly require teachers to support the transgender "social transition" of a student during school hours while using their preferred pronouns and gender-specific names. However, teachers must revert to biological pronouns and legal names when communicating with parents, concealing information about the preferred gender identity of the child. Moreover, the lawsuit contends that EUSD mandates teachers to "unhesitatingly accept a child's assertion of a transgender or gender diverse identity" and to treat the student accordingly. Once the social transition begins, teachers are allegedly required to ensure that parents remain unaware of the situation. The district prohibits revealing a student's transgender status to individuals without the student's consent, considering parents as individuals who "do not have a legitimate need for the information." Mirabelli and West objected to the policies on moral and religious grounds, claiming they felt uneasy about hiding information from parents about students' gender identities at school. The two asked for an exemption from the school district, but the requests were denied. Instead, both of them were removed from the classroom and harassed by the school district for filing a lawsuit.