A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked California’s controversial law prohibiting schools from informing parents when their child identifies as transgender, handing a significant legal victory to a Southern California city that has spent years challenging the measure.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Huntington Beach, allowing enforcement of the law to be halted while the broader legal fight continues. The decision marks a dramatic shift in a case that had previously appeared to favor the state.
Supporters of the challenge hailed the ruling as a major affirmation of parental rights.
“The Ninth Circuit’s decision is a powerful vindication of parental rights,” said Nick Barry, senior counsel at America First Legal, which represented Huntington Beach in the lawsuit.
“California cannot use state law to force schoolteachers and administrators into a conspiracy of silence against parents,” Barry added.
At the center of the dispute is a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July 2024 that made California the first state in the nation to prohibit school districts from requiring staff members to notify parents about a student’s gender identity. Supporters argued the measure was necessary to protect students who might face hostility or rejection at home. Critics countered that the law improperly excluded parents from important decisions involving their own children.
The conflict escalated when Huntington Beach responded by passing its own “Parents Right to Know” ordinance. The local measure requires educators to inform parents when students identify as a different gender or disclose a change in sexual orientation at school.
City officials framed the ordinance as a direct challenge to what they viewed as state overreach into family matters.
“This call for an Ordinance represents the city taking a stand against Sacramento’s overreach in its blatant invasion of the parent-child relationship,” then-Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark said at the time.
Huntington Beach subsequently sued California. Early court rulings were unfavorable to the city, with a federal judge denying an emergency request to block the law and concluding that Huntington Beach lacked standing to pursue the challenge.
The legal landscape changed substantially after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a separate ruling this year involving parental rights and education. In that decision, the Court stated that “parents—not the State—have primary authority with respect to the upbringing and education of children.”
The Ninth Circuit pointed directly to that Supreme Court ruling in explaining its decision.
According to the appellate court, the Supreme Court’s guidance strongly suggests that Huntington Beach is “likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim.”
Legal advocates involved in the case said the ruling validates concerns they have raised for years.
“This decision is a direct result of the courage of our clients who challenged California’s gender secrecy regime back in 2023,” said Paul M. Jonna, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, which participated in related litigation before the Supreme Court.
Newsom and other California officials have strongly criticized the Supreme Court’s reasoning and continue to defend the state’s position.
Following the high court’s earlier ruling, Newsom argued that limiting confidentiality protections for students could create new risks inside schools.
“The shadow docket ruling by the Supreme Court undermines student privacy and the ability to learn in a safe and supportive classroom, free from discrimination based on gender identity,” the governor said.
