Judge Tosses CVUSD’s Lawsuit Against State Over Transgender Protection Law

In his dismissal of the suit on April 17, U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta of the Eastern District of California gave the eight parent plaintiffs until May 8 to file an amended complaint. However, the lawsuit filed by CVUSD, Anderson Union High School District and the Orange County Board of Education were dismissed. In addition, the court dismissed all claims against Gov. Newsom, whom the judge said is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity. The original suit also named Attorney General Rob Bonta and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

The judge ruled that prior court rulings bar the school districts from suing state officials in federal court. “They seek, separate from Plaintiff Parents, to sue California state officials in their official capacity, to enjoin the implementation of a state law on federal constitutional grounds. Binding Ninth Circuit precedent clearly dictates they cannot do so.”

The judge also ruled that the parent plaintiffs failed to show that their students were affected by the state law.

“… Plaintiff Parents have not shown that they have suffered or will imminently suffer any form of harm as a result the Act,” the ruling read. “For example, Plaintiff Parents do not allege that their own child has gone or goes by a different name at school, that their children’s school has deprived the parents of relevant information about their child, or that this is something that is likely to happen in the future. … Instead, Plaintiff Parents merely allege that they are parents “who believe[] God created man and woman as distinct, immutable genders,” who “object[] on both conscience and religious ground to their public schools withholding information about changes to their child’s gender identity from them” (Id.) There is otherwise no indication that AB 1955 has been applied to their students.”

The conservative Liberty Justice Center filed the lawsuit last July – the day after the SAFETY Act was signed into law – without the CVUSD school board allowing the community a public hearing. That move spurred allegations of Brown Act violations, which were denied by the district’s law firm. Though the school board says the Liberty Justice Center represents it for free, filing and other significant legal fees are paid for by the district, as will any legal fees or penalties incurred. CVUSD has racked up nearly $1 million dollars in legal fees so far this school year, far outspending districts our size.

The SAFETY Act, also known as Assembly Bill 1955, was authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego). The law states that school employees “shall not be required to disclose any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent unless otherwise required by state or federal law.” It was proposed after CVUSD, followed by a few other California school districts, passed a “forced outing” policy in 2023 that required school employees to notify parents if students asked to be called by a different name or use a different pronoun. Proponents of the SAFETY Act said the district’s policy potentially endangered students, while opponents said parents have a constitutional right to be informed.

After losing in court, CVUSD revised its policy to cover any student who requested a change to their official records. (Parents and guardians already had the right to review their student’s records.)

It is unknown whether the parent plaintiffs – one of whom is a CVUSD teacher and parent – will file an amended complaint by the court’s deadline of May 8.