Published on February 17, 2024, 1:51 am

In breaking news, the governor and attorney general of California have been implicated in a lawsuit by two teachers who contend that state policies are compelling them to deceive parents by concealing their children’s transgender status. Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West, educators at Rincon Middle School in Escondido, initially sued Escondido Union School District in April for violations of their First Amendment rights. The educators argue that the “Parental Exclusion Policy” implemented by the school district interferes with teachers’ ability to share if a student identifies as a new gender or prefers a new pronoun.

Last month, these two teachers extended their lawsuit to include Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta. They alleged that “The governor is responsible for setting education policies,” according to Paul Jonna, legal counsel for Mirabelli and West. He added that Rincon Middle School and the Escondido Union School District do not exist aloof from these laws; they are products of state regulation, as laid out in the California Constitution.

The lawsuit addresses a policy titled “Parental Exclusion Policy” that reportedly stops teachers from elucidating if a student identifies as another gender during school hours. The Thomas More Society, which is representing Mirabelli and West, maintains that the district obligatory refusal to exempt these educators from implementing this policy obligates them to mislead parents systematically.

Last August saw the educators receiving an email with a catalogue of students along with each one’s preferred name and pronouns alongside instructions about whether this information could be passed across parents or guardians. According to reports, Mirabelli received an email enumerating details such as student names along with their chosen names and pronouns accompanied by directives on when home communications should revert to original names or genders undisclosed to parent figures.

Both educators assert that such policies infringe upon their First Amendment rights encompassing free speech freedom and religion exercise freedom. In September 2022, a district court judge enacted a preliminary injunction that halted the enforcement of the Parental Exclusion Policy for Mirabelli and West.

The “Parental Exclusion Policy” was termed as a ‘trifecta of harm’ by Judge Rodger T. Benitez, opining that it detrimentally affected the children seeking parental guidance and possible mental health interventions to determine identity incongruence sources. Additionally, it deprived them of their Fourteenth Amendment rights – granting parents decision-making powers concerning children’s care and healthcare decisions.

In January 2022, the educators included Newsom and Bonta in their lawsuit under allegations that they were attempting to impose state and federal anti-discrimination laws through the school district. According to them, California Department of Education had legally interpreted these laws as requiring schools to obscure students’ transgender identities from specific parents under risk of withholding state educational funding.

Moreover, this legal complaint also maintains that any school district failing these policies would face potential lawsuit threats from the State of California itself. These policies interpreted by Attorney General Bonta are seen as creating a hostile environment fostering adversarial relationships among students, schools, and parents alike.

In response to queried reactions about how Newsom viewed such policies, Jonna categorically stated that these policies do not protect students’ interests; instead causing damage. “When teachers are compelled to lie about a child entrusted into their care – that’s reprehensible.”

As concrete evidence from reliable news sources illustrates further compelling narratives related to real news emerging from the worldwide Christian perspective on education policy controversies in California stay tuned for more trusted news updates on this topic.