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CALIFORNIA COURT RESTORES PARENTAL RIGHTS IN CHINO VALLEY, LIMITING STATE SECRECY POLICIES
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2026
CONTACT: NICOLE VELASCO AT
MEDIA@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, California — In an important victory for parental rights, a California court today granted in part and denied in part Chino Valley Unified School District’s motion to dissolve the permanent injunction restricting its parental notification policy.
The court affirmed that parents who want to receive information concerning their own children that would otherwise be withheld under their school district’s policies have the right to receive that information.
Advocates for Faith & Freedom, alongside co-counsel California Justice Center, represents Chino Valley Unified School District in its defense of parental notification and parents’ constitutional right to direct the care and upbringing of their children.
“This is an important step forward for parents,” said Erin Mersino, Vice President and Chief of Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation with Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “Parents should not have to wonder whether a public school is withholding significant information about their own child. Today’s ruling recognizes that parents who want this information have a right to receive it. The State cannot simply shut parents out of decisions involving the welfare and mental health of their children.”
The case began after California Attorney General Rob Bonta challenged Chino Valley Unified School District’s parental notification policy, which required school personnel to notify parents when a student requested to be treated as a gender different from his or her biological sex, including requests involving names, pronouns, or access to sex-segregated facilities and programs. A permanent injunction entered in October 2024 prohibited enforcement of the gender identity-specific portions of that policy.
The legal landscape changed significantly following the United States Supreme Court’s 2026 decision in Mirabelli v. Bonta. The Supreme Court recognized that policies excluding parents from information concerning a child’s gender transition at school likely violate parents’ constitutional rights, including their right to participate in decisions concerning their children’s upbringing, education, and mental health.
Following Mirabelli, the Ninth Circuit also prohibited enforcement of key provisions of AB 1955 against parents who affirmatively sought information concerning their own children.
In response to those developments, Chino Valley Unified School District asked the court to dissolve the permanent injunction, arguing that the injunction could no longer be reconciled with controlling federal constitutional law.
Today, the court granted that motion in part.
Under the ruling, a parent who affirmatively wants to be informed of information concerning his or her child that might otherwise be withheld has the right to receive it.
The District is now evaluating how best to implement the ruling.
“This case has always been about a basic principle: parents are the primary caretakers of their children, not the government,” Mersino added. “Today’s ruling moves California closer to respecting that constitutional reality. We will continue working to ensure that parents are not forced to surrender their rights simply because their children enter the public-school classroom.”
Additional developments are expected as the District considers its next steps and the precise implementation of the court’s ruling.
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ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM, IN COLLABORATION WITH CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL, FILES NINTH CIRCUIT AMICUS BRIEF: CALIFORNIA CANNOT FORCE TEACHERS TO LIE TO PARENTS
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.
There Is Still Time to Reserve Your Seat at EPEC
There Is Still Time to Reserve Your Seat at EPEC
Dear Friend,
There is still time to join us for the Equipping Parents and Educators Conference (EPEC) in Anaheim, but now is the time to reserve your seat.
Parents, educators, and community leaders are facing difficult questions about parental authority, student rights, school policies, and how to protect children in an increasingly challenging educational environment.
You do not have to navigate these issues unprepared.
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is honored to partner with EPEC, where our President and Chief Counsel, Robert Tyler, and Vice President and Chief of Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation, Erin Mersino, will join national legal and education leaders to equip attendees with practical information on:
- Parental rights in education
- Protecting children in today’s schools
- Navigating school boards and public education
- Understanding your legal rights
- Effectively advocating for your children and community
Two conference dates are available:
September 26, 2026
📍 Anaheim, California
October 24, 2026
📍Palmdale, California
Register here: https://pok.org/events/
We hope you will join us, and we encourage you to share this opportunity with parents, teachers, school board members, and others who want to be better equipped to protect children and preserve parental rights.
In Christ,
Robert Tyler
President and Chief Counsel
