As a new school year gets underway, schools should be aware that the Trump administration is actively challenging policies or practices that seek to limit the information that staff can share with parents regarding a student’s gender identity, and both the Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit have issued decisions critical of such practices. This is a highly sensitive issue, and schools should review their policies, practices, and guidance regarding disclosure of information in light of these developments.
The Supreme Court’s Decision in Mirabelli
In March in Mirabelli v. Bonta, the Supreme Court let stand for now a court order prohibiting California from enforcing a law that limited when schools could inform parents about a student’s gender expression and transition. Parents and teachers who objected to the policies brought the case, which will continue, and the Supreme Court’s opinion is not its final word on these types of policies. Even so, the Court’s fairly detailed opinion in Mirabelli provides important information for school districts to consider in policies on student gender identity.
In brief, the challenged California state policies and guidance prohibited schools from disclosing to parents that students were engaging in “gender transitioning” at school, including the use of a student’s pronouns that differed from the student’s sex assigned at birth, unless the student consented to the parental disclosure. The parents asserted that the policies interfered with their constitutional right to direct the upbringing of their children as well as the right to guide their child’s religious development. A majority of the Supreme Court agreed. The Supreme Court reinstated an injunction against such policies—meaning that California must pause implementation of its policies during the court system review—holding that there was a likelihood of success that the parents would ultimately prevail in the litigation and that the denial of parental rights while the litigation is pending constitutes irreparable harm. (Note that in the Mirabelli opinion, “gender transitioning” in not limited to medical transition, but relates to aspects of social transitioning, including names, social presentation, and use of preferred pronouns.)
When considering the implications of the state policies on the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children, the Court stated that “gender dysphoria is a condition that has an important bearing on a child’s mental health, but when a child exhibits symptoms of gender dysphoria at school, California’s policies conceal that information from parents and facilitate a degree of gender transitioning during school hours. These policies likely violate parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children.” While the Court recognized that some students may be subject to safety risks if their parents were to learn of their gender transitioning activities, the Court noted that these concerns could be addressed through polices related to the reporting of child abuse and that the blanket policies were overly broad.
The Ninth Circuit Builds on Mirabelli
Following Mirabelli, the Ninth Circuit then allowed a separate challenge to proceed against a California state law that would essentially prohibit school employees from disclosing “any information related to a pupil’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person without the pupil’s consent.” City of Huntington Beach v. Newsom, 2026 WL 1785110 (9th Cir. June 18, 2026). In City of Huntington Beach, the court stated that “Mirabelli held that the Constitution generally requires that ‘parents who object’ to the withholding of any information about their child exhibiting symptoms of gender dysphoria be provided with that information rather than be ‘shut out of participation’ in such important ‘decisions regarding their children’s mental health.’ Id.
Federal Enforcement Signals Increased Scrutiny
The federal administration is actively enforcing an interpretation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that aligns with the reasoning of the Mirabelli opinion. On July 27, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education issued a press release announcing that that “Trump Administration Cracks Down on School Districts Secretly ‘Transitioning’ Students and Hiding it From Parents,” and describing that it is taking enforcement action against two school districts with policies that limited disclosure of information to parents regarding a student’s gender identity. The press release refers to a March 2025 Dear Colleague Letter from the Department of Education (DOE) in which it criticized district efforts to hide “gender plans” and similar documents from parents in response to FERPA requests. Parent rights advocacy groups are also threatening litigation against school districts with policies or practices that limit disclosure about a student’s gender identity to parents.
What This Means for School Districts
School districts work hard to ensure that all students feel safe and supported at school, and issues around student gender identity remain controversial. Schools should be aware of Mirabelli and related cases and evaluate practices in light of these decisions. If your school district has policies, guidance, or practices that restrict disclosure of information to parents about a student’s gender expression, identity, or transition unless the student consents to such disclosure, we recommend you consult with legal counsel.
This article is provided for informational purposes only—it does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the firm and the reader. Readers should consult legal counsel before taking action relating to the subject matter of this article.
