Ninth Circuit Blocks California Law Barring Parent Notification on Gender Identity

The Ninth Circuit issued a ruling blocking enforcement of a California state law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July 2024 that made the state the first to bar school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of a child’s gender identification.

The order allows Huntington Beach to proceed with its “Parents Right to Know” ordinance, which requires teachers to inform parents of their children’s sexual orientation and gender identification.

The city passed the ordinance after Newsom signed the state law, according to then-Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark. “The Ninth Circuit’s decision is a powerful vindication of parental rights,” said Nick Barry, senior counsel at America First Legal, which represented the city.

“California cannot use state law to force schoolteachers and administrators into a conspiracy of silence against parents,” he declared.

Huntington Beach city council had responded to the state law by passing its local measure. Van Der Mark said the ordinance was intended to push back against state Democrats who argued that “outing” a child’s sexual identity to family members could be harmful.

“This call for an Ordinance represents the city taking a stand against Sacramento’s overreach in its blatant invasion of the parent-child relationship,” she said.

The city later sued the state. A federal court in 2025 denied Huntington Beach’s request for an emergency order blocking the law. A lower court also ruled that the city lacked standing to sue. S.

” “This decision is a direct result of the courage of our clients who challenged California’s gender secrecy regime back in 2023,” said Paul M. Jonna, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, which was involved in the Supreme Court case. “The shadow docket ruling by the Supreme Court undermines student privacy and the ability to learn in a safe and supportive classroom, free from discrimination based on gender identity,” Newsom had said in a statement.