ESCONDIDO, Calif. — A local school district's privacy policy for transgender students is put on hold, at least for the time being. That policy, which is supported by the state, orders school staff to keep a transgender or gender non-conforming student's identity private, including to their own parents.
Two teachers in the Escondido Union School District filed a lawsuit in April, saying the policy violated their First Amendment rights. This ongoing litigation, filed in federal court in San Diego, is one of a growing number of cases that places the rights of transgender or gender nonconforming students against parental rights. One side said this policy protects students from possible abuse at home. The other side said it harms students, and the judge agreed in his order issued Thursday.
"I'm just feeling so grateful that justice is being served by this ruling," said Rincon Middle School teacher Elizabeth Mirabelli.
She added that this federal court decision, which temporarily blocks the Escondido Union School District from enforcing its transgender student privacy policy, is a victory. Mirabelli and fellow teacher Lori West filed this suit against the district and the state.
"Under this policy, I was just feeling like I was being watched," Mirabelli told CBS 8. "I was concerned about getting in trouble."
The original policy barred teachers in Escondido Union School District from discussing a student's transgender or gender nonconforming identity with that student's parents unless the student gives written consent. Escondido's policy follows the guidance given by the California Department of Education, which is also a defendant in this case.
State officials have said that preserving a transgender student's privacy is a matter of safety, adding: "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.''
However, the judge issuing this order disagreed, writing in his ruling that the district's policy "is as foreign to federal constitutional and statutory law as it is medically unwise."
The Escondido teachers' attorney Paul Jonna said this policy violated his clients' constitutional rights to free speech and free exercise of religion, which the judge agreed with.
"The reasoning of the ruling makes it very clear that this policy would be unconstitutional as applied to anybody really," Jonna said.
A spokesperson for the Escondido Union School District said the district's leadership is now reviewing the judge's decision.
CBS 8 has also reached out to the California Department of Education for comment, but has not yet heard back.
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