California Students Battle to Protect Girls’ Private Spaces in Schools

by Jeff Johnston | October 3, 2025 | Education

The California government seems bent on allowing boys and men who claim to be female into girls’ and women’s private spaces.

As a result, students at Anaheim’s Esperanza High School took matters into their own hands, staging protests after a male began using the girls’ restroom.

In 2013, the California Legislature passed AB 1266, a law that stated:

A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.

Since then, students claiming to be female have stolen sports titles from girls and exposed themselves to girls in locker rooms and restrooms.

As California Family Council reported, students at Esperanza have had enough. Junior Lesley Ledesma led the protest after administrators confirmed a wrong-sex identified male student would be permitted to use the girls’ facilities.

Ledesma stated:

As a woman, this felt like a slap in the face to me. As a young woman who has used the girls’ bathroom my entire life, I was now being asked to step aside. It didn’t feel fair. It didn’t feel respectful. It felt like my concerns, and the concerns of other girls, were being overlooked.

Her younger brother Eddie concurred, saying:

Restrooms are supposed to be private and safe, but when a male student goes in a girl’s restroom, it doesn’t feel that way anymore for the girls here. It creates stress and discomfort.
As a brother, it is very hard for me to see my sister struggling with this, especially when I can’t fix it for her. That’s why I’m speaking up. …This isn’t about hate. It’s about respect.

Lesley Ledesma also made clear that she wasn’t motivated by animosity toward sexually-confused students, as California Family Council detailed:

Let me be absolutely clear: I am not here to attack anyone. I do not wish harm on those who see things differently or anyone in the transgender community. I truly believe every person is created in the image and likeness of God and deserves love, dignity, and respect. But I also believe that females deserve to feel safe and comfortable in private spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms. Respect must go both ways.

Students were joined in their protest by parents, other family members and California Family Council Outreach Director Sophia Lorey, Chino Valley Unified School Board President Sonja Shaw, and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Trustee Leandra Blades.

The protest was not the first at a California school. In September 2025, students and parents at James L. Day Middle School in Temecula protested because “a male student who identifies as female has been using the girls’ locker room during P.E.,” California Family Council reported.

The pro-family organization, a Focus on the Family ally, added more details about the event:

The parent and student-led walkout formed quickly, with seventh and eighth-grade girls and boys standing together along the sidewalk outside campus. Many wore white bows and pink “Save Girls’ Sports” bracelets and held homemade signs emphasizing safety and privacy. (Their emphasis.)

In addition to these walkouts, hundreds of brave students and parents have spoken out at school board meetings, and some girls teams have forfeited games rather than play against a team with a male.  

California has stripped girls and women of their dignity, privacy and safety by treating confused, wrong-sex identified males as if they were female.

Kudos to brave California students and parents who are pushing back against state policies and schools that violate safety and privacy.

We hope many more will join them.

Related articles and resources:

DOJ Lawsuit Describes California Department of Education’s Infuriating Treatment of Girls

Feds Sue California Department of Education, Interscholastic Federation For ‘Illegal Sex Discrimination’

Feds Pressure California After Boy Wins in Girls Track and Field Championship

Focus on the Family Transgender Resources

Four Women’s Volleyball Teams Forfeit – Won’t Play Team with a Man

How to Get In Touch With Your State Policy Group

Middle School Girls Who Protested ‘Trans’ Athlete Are Banned From Future Competition

Riley Gaines and 15 Other Female Athletes Sue NCAA Over ‘Transgender Policy’

President Trump: ‘There are Only Two Genders: Male and Female’

Third Court Halts DOE’s Title IX Rewrite, Girls’ Sports & Spaces Preserved

Shoving Girls Off the Podium: More Male Athletes Participating in Girls Sports

Transgender Ideology is Inherently Destructive

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

Photo from Sophia Lorey, California Family Council, on X.