by Jorge Gomez • 3 minutes
First Liberty secured an important victory in one of our cases that will protect religious freedom and parental rights.
We represent two families in California whose fifth-grade sons were forced—in violation of their religious beliefs—to affirm a book promoting radical gender ideology. On Monday, a federal district judge ruled in favor of our clients.
The court granted a motion for preliminary injunction requiring the Encinitas Union School District to provide notice and opt-outs to parents and students when promoting gender ideology in “buddy classes,” a mentoring program coupling older and younger students.
This week’s decision is a crucial first victory. It means young students won’t be forced to read or affirm materials in violation of their faith, at least while the case proceeds in court.
“No child should be forced to speak a message that violates his religious convictions,” said First Liberty Senior Counsel Nate Kellum. “We are grateful for the court’s decision and will continue to fight to ensure that elementary children are not forced to participate in lessons about gender identity that violate their faith.”
This legal battle is not over, however. Attorney Kayla Toney and the father of one of the students joined First Liberty Live! to explain the decision and what it means for the case moving forward. Watch below:
Last spring, a fifth-grade teacher at La Costa Heights Elementary School read aloud My Shadow is Pink, a book that urges children to question their gender identity. It features a boy who sees his shadow as pink, something the book describes as “your inner-most you.” He then wears a dress to school. Ultimately his dad changes his beliefs and puts on a dress, too.
The children in this case were forced to watch a read-aloud video of the book with their kindergarten “buddy” as part of the school’s mentoring program. Then they had to ask the kindergartner what color “represents” him and draw the kindergartener’s shadow in chalk.
When the parents requested notice and opt-outs from similar teaching in the future, the school district denied their requests.
First Liberty and the National Center for Law & Policy filed a complaint and a motion for preliminary injunction last fall. Our lawsuit argued that the school district violated parents’ First Amendment right to direct the religious upbringing of their children.
In a strongly-worded order, the court concluded that “compelling individuals to mouth support for views they find objectionable violates the First Amendment,” highlighting the school’s “admission that the buddy program is a mandatory part of the Curriculum.”
The court’s order instructs that “buddy program class activities and materials shall not cover gender identity topics covered in health instruction, unless Defendants provide parents with advance notice and an opportunity to opt out.”
We now have a powerful ruling in our hands that we can use as we continue to fight for our clients in federal court. Even still, this is a temporary win, and there’s still a lot of work ahead to secure a full and complete victory for religious families in the Golden State and around the country.
Join the Fight. These Families Are Counting on Us.
The families we represent are just like yours. Just like mine. We simply want what’s best for our kids. But the school district has chosen to elevate radical indoctrination above religious freedom.
Our children are not children of the State. Our clients need your support to win their case. We’re asking you to join them in this legal battle.
Winning won’t just impact our clients or families in California. It would be a win for millions of parents, students and religious families all across America. It would be a win for YOU and your family.
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