free speech

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

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

‘Everyday Americans’ Honored at Address to Congress

First lady Melania Trump invited “everyday Americans as special guests” to President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

Several guests had ties to family issues that are important to Focus on the Family, such as God’s design of humans as male and female; saving girls sports, serving children in the foster care system; and protecting parents’ rights to direct the educational upbringing of their children.

Attendees included family members of victims of violence, a mom whose parental rights were assailed by her daughter’s school, a young lady who had been a foster child, and a steelworker who, along with his wife, provided “a loving home to dozens of foster children.”

In addition, a few “surprise guests” attended the speech, including Jason Hartley, a young man was just accepted into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and 13-year-old D.J. Daniel, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at age seven. D.J. was made an honorary law enforcement officer of several police departments; Secret Service Director Sean Curran made him an agent of the U.S. Secret Service during the speech.

Here are three of the “everyday Americans” honored by the president and first lady involved in issues we care about.  

Payton McNabb – Athlete’s story demonstrates why we should respect the distinctions between male and female.  

The Independent Women’s Forum, where Payton serves as an ambassador, described how McNabb was injured by a transgender-identified male in a volleyball game her senior year of high school:

On September 1, 2022, during a volleyball game against a rival North Carolina high school, 17-year-old Payton McNabb received a devastating head and neck injury as the result of a spike by a male athlete who identified as transgender. …

The blow left her unconscious, and “the ball’s impact caused neurological impairments including a concussion, vision problems, and partial paralysis to the right side of her body.”

In a White House video posted on X, McNabb said she still deals with these health issues today.

The president told Payton that because of an executive order protecting girls and women’s sports, “From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding.

Jeff Denard – Hardworking father and his wife generously give time and love to children in foster care.

Melania Trump described Denard, saying, “Jeff has spent nearly three decades working at a steel plant owned by Nucor Steel. His good paying, middle class job at the steel plant has allowed Jeff to serve as volunteer firefighter, provide a loving home to dozens of foster children, and organize his fellow steelworkers to respond to natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene.”

In a post on X, Denard said he and his wife, Nicole, have been married for 25 years and have seven children. He explained their work in foster care, saying,

“My wife and I are also ranch managers of the Circle Ranch, out in Danvill, Alabama. We have about 38 children on-site. We have been fostering now for about three years and have had about 41 children through our homes.”

“We are so blessed. God’s been so good to us that we’re able to do this.”

The Circle Ranch defines its purpose:

Our mission is to provide a stable, supportive, and Christ-centered environment for these children and their foster families, as well as to equip and empower them for a successful future. We believe that every child deserves a chance to grow up in a family environment that reflects the love of God.

The ranch also serves as “a hub for other foster, adoptive, or kinship families in North Alabama,” adding, “Our aim is to create a network of support and resources for all the families who are involved in this noble and challenging calling.”

January Littlejohn – Mom’s story exposes threats to parental rights in education.

Almost five years ago, January and Jeffrey Littlejohn filed a lawsuit against the Leon County School Board for violating their parental rights by secretly affirming their daughter, who was only 13 years old at the time, in her gender confusion, as the Daily Citizen reported.

Three staff members met with the girl and developed a “Transgender/Non-Conforming Student Support Plan.” The staff asked the girl how she wanted to be identified, what pronouns to use when speaking about her, whether she wanted to use the girls or boys bathroom, and whether she felt more comfortable rooming with boys or girls on overnight trips – all without her parents’ knowledge or consent.

In a video on X describing what happened to their daughter, Littlejohn explained the damage inflicted on their daughter, saying, “We learned that the school had socially transitioned our daughter, where they asked her questions that would have absolutely impacted her safety and had harmful impacts on her psychological and physical well-being.”

She said that the school’s tactics were designed “to effectively deceive parents like us that these social transition plans ever happen.”

The first lady’s announcement about Littlejohn’s invitation described the harms from hiding information from parents, “The school drove a wedge between January’s daughter and her parents, and deceived January about their covert plan to transition her daughter.”

Related Articles and Resources

‘Equipping Parents For Back-To-School’ – Updated Resource Empowers Parents

Florida Parents Sue School for Helping Teen ‘Transition’ – Without Their Knowledge or Consent

Male and Female Biology Matters

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

What’s Your School District’s ‘Transgender’ Policy?

Yet Another Man Steals Women’s Trophies

Foundational Values

Resources: Foster Care and Adoption

Wait No More

Young America’s Foundation Wins Free Speech Victory at Aeronautics University

The conservative activist group Young America’s Foundation (YAF) won a free speech victory over Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University (ERAU). The university had repeatedly shut down efforts by the school to host campus activities, including a “Where Does Life Begin” prolife event, a “Stand with Israel” day on Holocaust Remembrance Day, and a “9/11: Never Forget” memorial.

YAF Chief Communications Officer posted on X that ERAU supported Transgender Day of Remembrance, but the university wouldn’t allow detransitioner Chloe Cole on campus to share a different viewpoint on transgenderism. 

Benjamin Isbell, chairman of the YAF chapter at Embry-Riddle, told his story in an article, “My ‘Conservative’ School Shut Down My YAF Events. I Fought Back and Won.”

Isbell described why he choose ERAU, which is located in Prescott, Arizona, “As a veteran, I was attracted to the school because of the perceived conservative atmosphere on campus.”

But when he began heading up the YAF chapter, he found “the school was anything but conservative.”

He then explained that the school turned against freedom of speech on campus:

In October 2024, the school banned any public activity they declared as “political” or “religious.” No support for Israel, no discussion of pro-life ideas, nothing. Every activity that I had planned, which included hosting an event with Chloe Cole, was banned.  Yet, the school approved a pro “trans day of visibility” event to occur without issue.

After meeting with then Interim Chancellor Dr. Ken Witcher, Isbell said, “In the end, I was told essentially, ‘If you don’t like our policies, get a lawyer.'”

So he did.

YAF filed a discrimination complaint with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The complaint lists the other conservative events and activism blocked by ERAU:

  1. A “Biology Basics activism project” intended to counter the lie at the heart of transgenderism.
  2. Handing out flyers to promote a speech by truth-teller, detransitioner, and transgender surgery opponent Chloe Cole.  
  3. A “Funeral for Halloween” activism project lampooning “politically correct” restrictions on costumes that commit “cultural appropriation.”
  4. A “Where Does Life Begin?” project showing the various stages of fetal development to expose students to the reality of life in the womb.

Amongst a list of allegations, the complaint asked the OCR to investigate the school for violating presidential executive orders to end illegal discrimination in federally-funded schools, saying “ERAU prioritizes so-called secular speech and discriminates against religious students.”

The complaint also said, “ERAU’s counseling services recognize and push transgender ideology, including by recognizing sex-based distinctions that are not legitimate under law.” YAF said this violates Title IX, a recent Dear Colleague letter from the OCR, and various presidential executive orders.

Isbell said the school finally responded when faced with the complaint, “Less than a week after filing our complaint, ERAU mysteriously changed its mind and approved Chloe Cole to speak on campus.”

YAF posted the victory on X, with a video of Isbell asking Cole a question about the series of events at the university. Cole said, “Our universities used to be grounds for free speech … By barring people like me from speaking on your campuses, you are choosing to ignore the truth.”

It’s discriminatory for schools to treat conservative or religious groups differently from others. Thankfully, groups are pushing back against this disparate treatment. We’ll see if ERAU has learned its lesson and completely changes its unfair policies.

Related articles and resources:

Department of Education: Schools Embracing DEI Will Lose Funding

Female Law Students Punished for Objecting to Men in Women’s Restrooms, File Lawsuit

Harvard Protects Free Speech of Antisemites But Not Those Who Believe the Truth of Male and Female

Is David French Right — Is Our Religious Liberty Secure?

Student Asks Court to Uphold Right to Wear ‘There are Only Two Genders’ Shirt  

Teacher Wrongly Fired for Refusing to Use ‘Preferred Pronouns’ Wins $575,000

University of Iowa Caught Discriminating Against Faith-Based Student Clubs For the Second Time

Image from Shutterstock

Ohio School District Violated Teacher’s Rights in ‘Transgender’ Case

Vivian Geraghty taught English at Jackson Memorial Middle School in Massillon, Ohio. She was forced to resign for refusing to use the “preferred name and pronouns” of two transgender-identified students who were “socially transitioning,” due to her belief in the fact that there are only two sexes – male and female. 

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a complaint on her behalf, and the Jackson Local School District has agreed to pay $450,000 in damages and attorney’s fees for violating Geraghty’s free speech.

It’s the third victory in a row for ADF, which describes itself as “an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.”

As the Daily Citizen has reported, it’s yet another victory for ADF as it seeks to protect the First Amendment rights of teachers. The legal aid group also represented four Virginia teachers, in two separate cases, who won victories over school districts with transgender policies that forced teachers to participate in students’ “gender transitions.”

ADF Legal Counsel Logan Spena said of Geraghty’s victory:

No school official can force a teacher to set her religious beliefs aside in order to keep her job. The school tried to force Vivian to accept and repeat the school’s viewpoint on issues that go to the foundation of morality and human identity, like what makes us male or female, by ordering her to personally participate in the social transition of her students.
The First Amendment prohibits that abuse of power, and Jackson Local School District officials have learned that comes at a steep cost. Vivian resisted this unconstitutional demand and explained that her Christian faith made her unable to participate in her students’ social transition, and she has received just vindication for taking this stand.

According to Geraghty’s initial complaint, “Two of her students were asking to be addressed by different names and/or pronouns to signify that they had ‘transitioned’ to a gender that was inconsistent with their sex,” and she was “instructed by a school official to personally participate in that ‘social transition.’”

Because of her “scientific understanding and her Christian faith,” she knows there are only two sexes. She also knows there’s been a huge increase in the number of adolescents and teens identifying as something other than their sex.

Geraghty also knows the harms from affirming children’s sexual identity confusion, as the complaint explained:

Ms. Geraghty understands that many children who at some point express a gender identity inconsistent with their sex will eventually return to expressing an identity in harmony with their sex. For these children, all forms of treatment – whether psychosocial or medical – that “validate” the gender identity inconsistent with the child’s sex are harmful, but irreversible forms of treatment are the most harmful.

She went to the school principal, Kacy Carter, hoping to reach “a solution that would allow her to continue teaching without violating her religious beliefs and constitutional rights.”

When school officials found out that religion, as well as science, undergirded her belief in two sexes, she was told to set aside her faith. She refused to do this and was forced to resign – just two hours after she had gone to speak with them.

Now, Jackson Local School District is paying the price for violating her religious liberty and freedom of speech.

Science is clear that humans come in two types, male and female, based on their reproductive capacity. Transgenderism is a pseudoscientific ideology, completely disconnected from reality.

And Scripture is clear that God made humans male and female, and both men and women reflect His image. To deny this is an affront to God as the creator and sustainer of life.

Yet schools across the nation deny this reality, threatening parents’ rights, undermining the free speech and religious freedom of educators, and refusing to guard the privacy and safety of students.

Parents Defending Education reported that as of October 30, more than 1,143 school districts have transgender policies, covering almost 21,000 schools with 12.3 million students. Such policies may require educators to lie to parents and hide a child’s sexual identity confusion, force school staff to use “preferred names and pronouns,” and allow students to use restrooms and play sports based on their transgender identification.

Until school boards and administrators come to their senses, ADF – and other legal aid groups – will have plenty of opportunities to go after school districts with these radical transgender policies.

Related articles and resources:

Here are some groups providing legal aid, information and assistance to protect free speech, religious freedom and parental rights in education:

Christian Professor Wins $400,000 Settlement in Compelled Personal Pronouns Case

‘Equipping Parents For Back-To-School’ – Updated Resource Empowers Parents  

Even Hard-Boiled Evolutionists are Standing Strong Against Gender Madness

Free Speech Victory for Virginia Teacher Fired Over ‘Transgender’ Pronoun Policy

There is No Pride in Denying Reality or the Image of God in Humanity

Transgender Resources

Teacher Wrongly Fired for Refusing to Use ‘Preferred Pronouns’ Wins $575,000

Virginia School District Will Respect Teachers’ Religious Freedom and Speech What’s Your School District’s ‘Transgender’ Policy?

Image from Shutterstock.

‘Pride’ and Black Lives Matter Flags to Become School Symbols

A Colorado school board is poised to make the “Pride” and Black Lives Matter (BLM) flags symbols of their public school district — just one month after trying to ban them.

Durango School District 9-R ordered teachers to remove the flags from schools in October, The Durango Herald reports, after a parent complained they violated the district’s ban on political speech. The edict elicited fierce backlash, including a student walkout, a public protest and animated pushback at a board meeting.

Last week, at least three board members expressed new willingness to exempt the “Pride” and BLM flags from the political speech ban.

The only problem? That pesky First Amendment.

Public school districts like Durango are allowed to ban some types of speech, like political speech, but must apply such restrictions equally.

That’s why the district’s lawyers advised it to remove “Pride” and Black Lives Matter flags in October. Durango can’t ban some kinds of political expression and not others without violating the First Amendment.

Importantly, neither Durango’s school board nor its lawyers deny the contested flags constitute political speech. Most people understand “Pride” flags symbolize support for gender ideology, including policies like allowing minors to undergo transgender medical interventions. BLM is an explicitly political movement geared, in part, toward disrupting the nuclear family.

Instead of trying to defend the “Pride” and BLM flags as apolitical, board members Rick Petersen, Kristin Smith and Katie Stewart say they could draft and sign a resolution endorsing the flags as speech consistent with the district’s educational and cultural goals.

“By designating it as government speech and adopting [the flags] as symbols of our school district, it avoids a First Amendment problem,” Petersen explained in last week’s board meeting.

The line between government and private speech was most recently delineated Shurtleff, et al., v. City of Boston, a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that found public organizations have more leeway to express their own speech than limit the speech of others. Writing for the majority, then-Justice Stephen Breyer explained:

The First Amendment prevents [the government] from discriminating against speakers based on their viewpoint. But when the government speaks for itself, the First Amendment does not demand airtime for all views.

Denver Public School District (DPS) successfully used Shurtleff to defend displaying the “Pride” flag in its schools. A DPS parent had sued the district for displaying the flag, calling it discriminatory and asking they be taken down or paired with “Straight Pride” flags.

A magistrate judge dismissed the suit in August, writing,

Here, DPS selected the Pride Flag, and not [the “Straight Pride” flag], as representing the message that DPS wishes to convey.

DPS’ victory doesn’t mean Durango’s path forward will be easy. The district’s lawyers do not appear to endorse the board’s proposed resolution, according to the Herald. Petersen suggests one wrong move could bankrupt the district:

What this board is trying to do is find a way where can do two things to the best of our ability. One is abide by our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging policy resolution … and the other side of it is making sure we don’t put the school out of business.

Did you catch that? The district decided to endorse the “Pride” and BLM flags in accordance with their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging resolution. Published in 2021, this document reads, in part:

Education is at the heart of social justice, as we are a huge player in determining the type of key that children will hold in their hands as adults in our society.

As the Daily Citizen frequently demonstrates, “social justice” means different things to different groups. Black Lives Matter, for instance, believes social justice involves defunding the police, monetary reparations for slavery, and teaching “anti-racism” in elementary schools.

Education requires teaching skills that allow children to grow into productive, engaged members of society. Teaching children to support and inform specific policy agendas isn’t education — its indoctrination.

Durango’s board seems content to further this indoctrination to avoid public backlash. That’s dereliction of duty.

The proposed resolution could take six months for board members to draft. In the meantime, “Pride” and BLM flags will be allowed to stay. The Daily Citizen will keep you updated on this developing story.

To learn more about politics and gender ideology in schools, check out Focus on the Family’s Back-to-School resource for busy parents.

Additional Articles and Resources

Students’ Test Scores Tank After School Consults ‘Woke Kindergarten’

BLM Coloring Book Teaches Elementary Students the Nuclear Family is Racist

Five Things for Christians to Remember During ‘LGBT Pride Month’

Back to School With Sexualized Lessons

Is it ‘Book Banning’ to Keep Sexually Explicit Books out of Schools?