A California law that prevents schools from telling parents when a student identifies as transgender has been temporarily blocked after a federal appeals court sided with Huntington Beach in its challenge to the measure.
The ruling from the Ninth Circuit marks a major shift in the ongoing legal battle between California officials and the conservative Southern California city. Huntington Beach has argued that parents have a constitutional right to know about major developments involving their children, including changes tied to gender identity or sexual orientation.
“The Ninth Circuit’s decision is a powerful vindication of parental rights,” said Nick Barry, senior counsel at America First Legal, which represented Huntington Beach in the case.
“California cannot use state law to force schoolteachers and administrators into a conspiracy of silence against parents,” Barry said.
The order temporarily blocks a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July 2024. That law made California the first state in the country to prohibit school districts from requiring employees to notify parents when a student changes their gender identity at school.
Huntington Beach officials strongly opposed the measure from the beginning. After Newsom signed the law, the city passed its own “Parents Right to Know” ordinance. That local rule requires school employees to inform parents about changes involving a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Supporters of the state law have argued that forcing schools to disclose that information could put some students at risk, especially if they are not ready to discuss their identity with their families. Democrats in California have said the law was intended to protect student privacy and keep schools safe for LGBTQ students.
Then-Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark said Huntington Beach’s ordinance was meant to push back against what city officials saw as overreach from Sacramento.
“This call for an Ordinance represents the city taking a stand against Sacramento’s overreach in its blatant invasion of the parent-child relationship,” Van Der Mark said.
The city later sued the state, but a federal court in 2025 rejected Huntington Beach’s request for an emergency order blocking the law. The lower court also found that the city did not have standing to bring the case.
That changed after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in a separate case involving the California law. In that matter, the high court blocked enforcement of the law and said that “parents—not the State—have primary authority with respect to the upbringing and education of children.”
The Ninth Circuit cited that Supreme Court ruling in its latest decision, saying Huntington Beach was “likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim.”
Paul M. Jonna, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, said the decision grew out of earlier efforts to challenge California’s approach to gender identity policies in schools.
“This decision is a direct result of the courage of our clients who challenged California’s gender secrecy regime back in 2023,” Jonna said.
Newsom and other California Democrats have criticized the Supreme Court’s action and are continuing to fight the legal fallout from it.
“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 said.
