California lawsuit alleges teachers have a First Amendment right to out transgender students

Two San Diego-area middle school teachers are suing their local school district, as well as Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and the members of the California State Board of Education, alleging that they have a First Amendment right to out transgender students to their parents.

Elizabeth Mirabelli, who teaches English at Rincon Middle School, and Lori Ann West, who teaches PE at that same school, have filed their lawsuit against Escondido Union School District and the state with support from the Thomas More Society, a conservative Catholic law firm.

According to the complaint, Mirabelli and West sought — and were denied — a religious accommodation exempting them from having to comply with state law and district policy. They require that teachers recognize transgender students’ gender identity and use the pronouns associated with it, and to refrain from informing parents without student permission.

“Faced with EUSD’s immoral policies deceiving parents, both Mrs. Mirabelli and Mrs. West sought an accommodation that would allow them to act in the best interests of the children in their care — as required by their moral and religious convictions. Both Mrs. Mirabelli and Mrs. West consider it a moral and religious duty to provide such care for every child in their charge, regardless of personal differences,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says that the school district’s policies “are both dangerous for the students in their care and unconstitutional.”

“The policies endanger the children in EUSD’s care through recklessly disregarding or ignoring the real harm that can occur through transitioning to another gender during childhood, while removing the key parental oversight that could protect the mental and physical wellbeing of EUSD’s students,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cites “de-transitioners,” people who were transgender but ceased identifying as such, as a reason why validating transgender and gender-nonconforming students’ identities is harmful and against the teachers’ beliefs.

However, de-transitioning is incredibly rare; just 8% of respondents reported doing so, according to a 2015 survey from the National Center for Transgender Equality. Out of those, just 5% said they de-transitioned because it wasn’t for them, with most doing so due to pressure from family, work or friends.

This isn’t the first lawsuit against a California school district over the Department of Education policy. Another conservative group has sued Chico Unified School District on this issue as well.

The legal action comes just weeks after a California legislative committee killed a bill that would have forced the CDE to lift its policy prohibiting teachers from outing transgender students.

A spokeswoman said the department is unable to comment on pending legislation, but referred The Bee to a March 21 legal advisory stating, “California law requires that schools provide all students with a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment, free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying.”

It also referred The Bee to Frequently Asked Questions document stating that preserving transgender students’ privacy is “of the utmost importance.”

“The right of transgender students to keep their transgender status private is grounded in California’s anti-discrimination laws as well as federal and state laws. Disclosing that a student is transgender without the student’s permission may violate California’s anti-discrimination law by increasing the student’s vulnerability to harassment and may violate the student’s right to privacy,” the document reads in part.

According to a 2022 survey from the Trevor Project, fewer than a third (32%) of transgender and nonbinary youths surveyed said they view their home as a gender-affirming place.