encinas Archives

A California school district agreed Monday to notify parents before teaching gender ideology in school “buddy programs” and allow them to opt their children out.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California issued a preliminary injunction against Encinitas Union School District in May, requiring it give parents at least three days to opt their children out of activities promoting gender ideology in school “buddy programs” — mandatory mentorship initiatives pairing older students up with younger ones.

On Monday, the district voluntarily dismissed its appeal of the injunction, effectively agreeing to abide by the order until the case against it concludes.

“This is a big win,” Carlos Encinas told the Daily Citizen. “We’ve had highs and lows, so right now, we’re just enjoying the moment.”

Carlos and his wife, Jenny, sued Encinitas Union School District in September 2024 for allegedly violating their parental rights and right to religious freedom. The district had repeatedly refused the couple’s request to opt their sons out of “buddy program” lessons promoting gender ideology, which conflicts with the family’s faith.

The district further violated their son’s right to free speech, the Encinas argue, by compelling him to promote gender ideology to a younger classmate.

The 11-year-old and his kindergarten buddy had been forced to listen to an audiobook about a little boy who discovers his shadow — his “innermost self”— is pink, not blue. The Encinas’ son, a devout Christian, was subsequently required to help the younger child identify the color shadow that “best represented him.”

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the Encinas on May 12. First Liberty Attorney Kayla Toney, the couple’s lawyer, says the judge agreed Encinitas Union School District likely violated their son’s right to free speech.

“The judge basically found that, under Supreme Court case law, schools cannot force students to speak messages that go against their beliefs or their conscience,” she told the Daily Citizen.

Toney also believes the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor this summerinfluenced the school district’s decision to drop its appeal.

“In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court found that school districts are required to provide advance notice and opt-outs to parents when the material [the district] is teaching substantially interferes with their religious beliefs,” she told the Daily Citizen.

“I think there’s no way [Encinitas Union School District] could have won under Mahmoud,” she continued, noting Supreme Court precedent applies regardless of state law. “I think they saw the writing on the wall and decided to withdraw their appeal in light of [that].”

The Encinas weathered significant persecution to stand up for their rights. Carlos and Jenny removed their boys from the public school system entirely after facing vitriol from teachers, parents and students.

But, through it all, Carlos says God has remained faithful.

“There’s a certain awareness [about parental rights issues] within our community now that I think is really beneficial,” he reflected.

“[The district] really isn’t transparent about how it trains its teachers and the way content is distributed in the classroom,” he continued. “We’ve had a lot of parents reach out to us personally and thank us for being a voice on this.”

Carlos also praised God for making a way for his sons to attend a private, Catholic school.

“[My kids] are in a great place,” he told the Daily Citizen. “They’re thriving — and we’ve got a new community [and support system] we’ve been introduced to.”

While Carlos is grateful for God’s provision, he and Toney know most parents do not have the choice to leave public school.

“[The Encinas] never should have had to withdraw from the public school district,” Toney emphasized. “The fact that the hostility rose to that level is really appalling, because most families don’t have other options.”

“It’s an extraordinary effort to move your kids out of public school,” Carlos added. “I’m just so thankful to God for opening those doors.”

Toney and the Encinas don’t know when the case will conclude — but Carlos says the timeline doesn’t matter. He and his family intend to see it through.

“We know God’s got this battle won for us — we just need to be trusting and faithful,” he told the Daily Citizen.

“It’s definitely taken a bit longer than we expected, and it may take a bit longer [still], but we’re in it for the long haul, however long it takes.”

Additional Articles and Resources

Supreme Court Defends Religious Freedom, Parental Rights Over ‘LGBT’ Curriculum

California Family Wins Early Legal Victory for Parental Rights, Religious Freedom

California Family Harassed After Trying to Opt-Out of Activities Teaching Gender Ideology

Common Spirit Denied Teen Body Medical Care After Parents Objected to Doctor’s Bizarre Questions

Three Ways the Media Supports Sexually Explicit, Inappropriate Books for Children

Liberal Father Seeks to Disprove Concerns Over Sexually Explicit Books in Schools, Becomes Convinced These Books Are Not for Children

Sexualizing Schoolchildren: Classroom and Library Books

JUMP TO…

A California school district must allow parents to opt their children out of some activities pushing gender ideology, the Southern District Court of California ordered in a preliminary injunction issued last week.

The decision is an encouraging early win for Carlos and Jenny Encinas. The parents of three young kids made the difficult decision to sue Encinitas Union School District last year after their 11-year-old son, a Christian, was forced to teach his kindergarten buddy about gender identity.

“[The preliminary injunction] prevents the school district from teaching [students] about gender ideology in the [kindergarten] buddy class program unless they provide advanced notice and opt out [opportunities],” the Encinas’ lawyer, First Liberty Attorney Kayla Toney, told First Liberty Live.

“That’s exactly what our clients were asking for all along.”

Background

The Daily Citizen interviewed Toney and Carlos shortly before the district court’s ruling. Carlos confirmed he and his wife weren’t itching for a grueling legal battle. They just wanted to opt their sons out of activities teaching gender ideology — or forcing their sons to teach gender ideology to others.

When La Costa Heights Elementary and Encinitas Union School District denied both of the Encinas’ opt-out requests, the couple had nowhere else to turn.

“We are seeking resolution from the court system because we have no other choice,” Carlos told us.

The Encinas family experienced ruthless bullying for trying to exercise their parental rights. Carlos and Jenny received threats and harassment online for being “hateful.” The couple’s two sons became targets of other children — and even adults — at school.

Eventually, the Encinas boys moved schools altogether. But the family remains determined to see their case through.

“I feel like God’s got a plan in this and chose my son and our family for a reason,” Carlos reflected. “I have absolute faith that we are part of a spiritual battle that is going to be part of an ultimate renewal.”

To read more of the Daily Citizen’s interview with Carlos, click here.

The Case

The Encinas’ case alleges Encinitas Union School District infringed on their family’s:

Parental rights
Right to freely exercise their religion
Free speech rights

The district violated Carlos and Jenny’s parental rights by denying their request to opt out of activities teaching gender ideology.

California law requires schools to allow parents to opt out of sex ed lessons. Encinitas Union claims this law only applies to material taught in traditional sex ed units, rather than sexual material in general. The Encinases argue parental opt-out requirements apply to all sexual content, regardless of the curricula it’s rolled into.

Toney sums up:

[The district] is claiming that they don’t have to provide [parental] opt-outs when the exact same material about sexuality and gender identity is taught in other classes, in younger grades, outside the sexual education unit.

The district also violated the Encinas family’s right to freely exercise their religion by denying their request to opt out. A school cannot constitutionally deny religious exemptions while granting other, non-religious exemptions. Toney expands:

The school is able to provide opt-outs, and is required in certain circumstances. It’s very common in a school environment.

[But] the free exercise clause says that, if there’s a system of exemptions for any reason, then religious exemptions have to be provided too. Religion can’t be treated less favorably than other interests.

Encinitas Union School District violated the Encinas’ eldest son’s free speech rights by forcing him to teach gender ideology to his kindergarten buddy. Toney explains:

Our position is that what happened to Carlos’ son was compelled speech, because the government — the school district — was using the children to teach its own message about gender that directly conflicted with [his] religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court has considered “compelled speech” a violation of the free speech clause for nearly a century.

The Ruling

The Southern District Court of California granted the Encinas family’s request for preliminary injunction against the district. The injunction will not only prevent the district from violating parents’ rights while the case is adjudicated, but also require schools like La Costa Heights to notify parents about sexualized lessons.

Until now, Carlos tells the Daily Citizen, these lessons have been shrouded in secrecy.

“In talking to other parents, we discovered a pattern in the way the school and the district suppressed objections to [inappropriate sexual material],” he explained. “It was like they wanted to hide how they were promoting some of this stuff in the classroom.”

The judge largely affirmed the Encinas’ arguments, according to Toney — an encouraging sign for future rulings. He expressed particular concern over the district’s alleged free speech violations.

“The judge here was very focused on the children, and how children have a right to believe in God,” Toney recounted to First Liberty Live. “They have a right to express their faith and they have a right to not be forced to express a message that they disagree with.”

Mahmoud v. Taylor

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case similar to the Encinas family’s just last month.

In Mahmoud v. Taylor, families of diverse faith backgrounds argue a Maryland school district violated their right to freely exercise their religion after the district taught LGBT children’s books in elementary school classes — without notice or the chance to opt out.

Like Encinitas Union School District, Montgomery County Public Schools tried to get around parental opt-out requirements by rolling inappropriate sexual material into other subjects. Outside of sex ed, Montgomery County tried to argue, the school district isn’t required to allow parents to opt out.

As the Daily Citizen previously reported, the six conservative justices seemed sympathetic to parents during oral arguments, expressing concern that Montgomery County could be burdening families’ religious exercise.

Carlos felt profound relief after listening to the case.

“It was amazing to hear some of the highest legal authorities in the land ask some of the questions we, ourselves, asked early on.” he told the Daily Citizen.

Like, “Wait a second, why can’t you guys opt us out of this? We just don’t want to participate.” To have a Supreme Court justice ask that same question over and over again, and get the same unclear explanation, and then have that justice come back and say, “Wait hold on, I’m still not understanding the answers” — that’s another kind of inspiration.

To learn more about Mahmoud v. Taylor, click here.

Why It Matters

The Daily Citizen is grateful to the Encinas family for putting themselves on the line to protect the right of all parents to raise their children according to their faith.

We will continue to cover this important case.

To read more about the Encinas’ story, click here.

Additional Articles and Resources

California Family harassed After Trying to Opt-Out of Activities Teaching Gender Ideology

Supreme Court Sympathetic to Opt-Outs for LGBT Curriculum

Common Spirit Denied Teen Body Medical Care After Parents Objected to Doctor’s Bizarre Questions

Three Ways the Media Supports Sexually Explicit, Inappropriate Books for Children

Liberal Father Seeks to Disprove Concerns Over Sexually Explicit Books in Schools, Becomes Convinced These Books Are Not for Children

Sexualizing Schoolchildren: Classroom and Library Books