Judge Rules on Cali Law Regarding Teachers

By
Mark Stevens
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In a landmark decision that cuts through the ideological fog blanketing California’s education system, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez delivered a devastating legal blow to the state’s controversial AB 1955 — a law that required teachers to affirm a child’s gender transition at school while keeping parents in the dark. In plain terms, the state demanded that educators lie to parents about their own children. On Monday, Judge Benitez responded with a firm and unambiguous answer: That’s unconstitutional.


The ruling is not only a victory for parental rights — it’s a precedent-setting moment that will echo far beyond California’s borders. In a time when trust between parents and public institutions is fraying, this federal court decision reaffirms a foundational principle: parents have the right to know what’s happening to their children in the classroom, especially when it involves matters as deeply personal and life-altering as gender identity.

Benitez didn’t mince words in his sweeping opinion:

“Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be informed if their public school student child expresses gender incongruence… These federal constitutional rights are superior to any state or local laws, state or local regulations, or state or local policies to the contrary.”

Translation: No matter how much California’s progressive leadership — from Gov. Gavin Newsom to AG Rob Bonta — wants to hand over control of children’s identities to state institutions, the Constitution still reigns supreme.


AB 1955, signed in July 2024, had placed teachers in an impossible position: affirm a child’s gender transition at school, but withhold that information from parents, even if it conflicted with the educator’s conscience or religious beliefs. The law even encouraged using one name and set of pronouns with parents, and a different one at school — an Orwellian system of double-speak, enforced by the state.

Not anymore.

Judge Benitez issued a permanent injunction, barring California from:

  • Forcing teachers to lie to parents about their child’s gender identity.
  • Preventing parents from accessing related educational records.
  • Requiring staff to use different names/pronouns in front of parents than at school.
  • Forcing staff to conceal gender transitions, even over moral or religious objections.
  • Interfering with any school official’s communication with parents about a student’s gender presentation.

This ruling sends a clear and thunderous message: Parental rights are not negotiable. Not by the state, not by bureaucrats, not by ideologically driven school boards. The court has stepped in to remind those in power that children do not belong to the government.

It’s also a direct rebuke to the idea — increasingly common in far-left circles — that state institutions can override the role of parents in decisions involving gender, identity, and psychological development. AB 1955 wasn’t about protecting children — it was about separating them from their parents, ideologically and practically.


In short, Judge Benitez didn’t just block an unconstitutional law — he restored sanity to a state education system spiraling deeper into radical social engineering.

For millions of parents — in California and beyond — this ruling is more than just ink on paper. It’s a long-overdue affirmation that their voices still matter in the raising of their own children.

“It is so ordered,” wrote Judge Benitez.

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