ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2026
CONTACT: NICOLE VELASCO AT
MEDIA@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — July 3, 2026 — Advocates for Faith & Freedom, in collaboration with Christian Educators Association International, has filed an amicus curiae brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Mirabelli v. Bonta, urging the Court to uphold protections for parents and educators against California policies requiring teachers to conceal a student’s gender transition from parents.
The brief argues that California cannot require teachers to use one name and set of pronouns with a student while using another with the student’s parents, effectively forcing educators to participate in a system of deception.
“Teachers should never be forced to choose between their faith, their professional integrity, and their jobs,” said Erin Mersino, Chief Counsel and Vice President of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “Parents are not outsiders in their children’s lives, and the State cannot require educators to mislead them about something this significant. Truth should never be treated as misconduct.”
Christian Educators Association International represents approximately 15,000 educators nationwide, including more than 1,000 in California. In its 2025 membership survey, nearly half of respondents reported having been asked to refer to a student by a different name or pronoun, highlighting how directly these policies affect teachers in today’s classrooms.
“Christian educators are not asking for a pulpit in the public-school classroom. They are asking for the freedom to tell the truth,” said David Schmus, Executive Director of Christian Educators Association International. “California’s policies conscript teachers to use one name and one set of pronouns with the student and another with the family. That is not professional care. It is compelled speech and forced deception, and it violates both conscience and the parent-child relationship the Constitution protects. Our members will teach with compassion every child assigned to them. They will report actual abuse. But they will not lie to the families they serve. We proudly file this brief to protect the rights of all public-school educators to teach with integrity.”
The brief also rejects the argument that secrecy is necessary to protect students, emphasizing that existing mandatory-reporting laws remain fully intact when actual abuse is suspected. As the filing states, “Disagreement is not abuse.”
It further argues that compelled pronoun use and forced concealment raise serious First Amendment concerns because educators may be required to speak words they believe are false and then hide that speech from parents.
At its core, the brief asks the Court to protect three fundamental principles: parental authority, freedom of conscience, and truth in the relationship between schools and families. Advocates for Faith & Freedom is urging the Ninth Circuit to affirm the judgment and class-wide permanent injunction protecting the constitutional rights of parents and educators.
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Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.
Christian Educators has proudly protected and supported educators since 1953, providing a Biblical alternative to politicized teachers unions, while equipping them to be thriving ambassadors for Christ in our public schools.