parental rights

California School District Reverses Course – Agrees to Protect Parental Rights

A California school district changed its policies this week to require schools notify parents before teaching — and allow them to opt their children out of — material conflicting with their religious beliefs.

The agreement resolves a lawsuit against the district alleging it violated a California family’s right to free speech, parental rights and the right to freely exercise their religion.

Carlos and Jenny Encinas sued Encinitas Union School District in September 2024 after the district refused to allow the couple to opt their two sons out of lessons teaching gender ideology.

Earlier that year, the Encinas had been dismayed to learn their oldest son’s fifth-grade class had read a book about a little boy who discovers his shadow is pink, not blue. The book, My Shadow is Pink, ended with both the boy and his father dressing as girls.

The 11-year-old, a committed Christian, then had to listen to My Shadow is Pink with his kindergarten buddy. He was instructed to help his buddy identify the color shadow that “best represented them.”

“[My son] could kind of filter out [the book’s message.],” Carlos told the Daily Citizen in an interview last year. “I think what really upset him was the fact that he was forced to [share that message] with a five-year-old.”

Carlos and Jenny tried to opt both their sons out of similar lessons in the future, explaining it interfered with their Christian beliefs. The district denied both requests — despite allowing non-religious opt-outs for everything from gym class to dissecting animals.

By denying their opt-out requests, the Encinases argued, Encinitas Union violated their parental rights and right to freely exercise their religion.

California law requires schools to allow parents to opt out of sex ed lessons. The district argued this law only applied to material taught in sexual education units, rather than sexual material in general.

Kayla Toney, First Liberty counsel and the Encinas’ attorney, explained the district’s backwards logic to the Daily Citizen:

[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.

But Carlos and Jenny maintained parental opt-out requirements apply to all sexual content, regardless of the curricula it’s rolled into.

Long-standing U.S. Supreme Court precedent also prevents a school from denying religious exemptions while granting other, non-religious exemptions.

The Supreme Court highlighted this principle in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case which could well have influenced Encinitas Union’s decision to settle.

Mahmoud began in 2023 when several Maryland couples from diverse religious backgrounds sued Montgomery County Public Schools after the district eliminated a pathway for parents to opt their children out of reading LGBT books in the classroom.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the parents last summer, finding that, when a school mandates exposure to material which conflicts with a family’s religious beliefs, the school “substantially burdens” their right to freely exercise their religious beliefs.

In his ruling, Justice Samuel Alito, explicitly noted schools cannot grant some opt-outs and refuse to grant religious opt-outs.  

The Encinas’ case also argued Encinitas Union school district violated their eldest son’s free speech rights by forcing him to teach gender ideology to his kindergarten buddy. Toney told the Daily Citizen:

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.

In a press release announcing Encinitas Union’s decision to change its policies — and pay the Encinas family an undisclosed amount of money — Nate Kellum, Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute wrote:

No child should be forced to speak a message that violates his religious convictions. We are grateful that we were able to reach this settlement on behalf of the families involved. This is a tremendous victory not only for our clients but for all parents in the Encinitas Union School District.

Carlos knew his family’s case made an impact in their community, long before he knew the outcome.

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

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

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

Please join us in thanking God for the Encinas family’s victory for parental rights, religious freedom and free speech.

Additional Articles and Resources

Victory: CA School District Agrees to Notify Parents Before Teaching Gender Ideology

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

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

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

Female Wrestler Sues Washington School District, Others for Forcing Her to Face Male Opponent

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) sued several Washington state education institutions and officials Tuesday on behalf of Kallie Keeler, the high school wrestler who was sexually assaulted by a transgender-identified male opponent last December.

The federal suit alleges Rogers High School, Puyallup School District, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) violated Title IX of the Civil Rights Act by failing to separate sports by sex and properly investigate sexual assault.

The filing also alleges the defendants violated Kallie’s mom’s parental rights by failing to inform her Kallie would be wrestling a boy.

“Washington state officials insist on pushing gender ideology at all costs — even at the expense of girls’ safety and privacy,” ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson, the director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights, wrote in a press release.

“Tragically, because of district policy, a 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a male opponent on the wrestling mat,” Anderson continued.

“Kallie’s mom was in the gym with her daughter, but she could not protect her because the district’s written policy prohibits notifying parents or anyone else when their daughters will be matched against male athletes.”

On December 6, 2025, Kallie, a sophomore in high school, unknowingly wrestled a male opponent. During the match, she alleged her opponent sexually penetrated her with his fingers for several seconds.

When investigative journalist Brandi Kruse published Kallie’s story in February, classmates and online trolls targeted the teenager, insisting she couldn’t hack the physicality of wrestling.

But ADF’s filing clarifies what happened to Kallie was no commonplace foul. Her opponent digitally penetrated her, going underneath her wrestling singlet, her spandex shorts and her underwear.

“This is not a legal wrestling move, and it is not something that easily happens accidentally,” the filing explains. “Wrestling singlets are very tight spandex, so the fabric resists pressure, and [Kallie] was wearing three layers of fabric.”

Kallie allowed herself to be pinned and left the mat in tears. She already planned to report the assault to her coaches. Before she could, a coach from another school informed her she had just wrestled a boy.

Contrary to Title IX, which requires federally funded schools to separate sports and private spaces by sex, WIAA and OSPI require schools allow students to use bathrooms and participate in sports consistent with their “gender identity,” rather than their sex.

The male who allegedly assaulted Keeler is one of two boys on the Emerald Ridge Highschool girls wrestling team alone. Several girls have reportedly objected to both males’ presence in the girl’s locker room.

To ADF’s knowledge, both boys are eligible to compete in girls wrestling and change in girl’s locker rooms this season.

The filing also alleges the defendants failed to properly investigate Kallie’s claims.

Kallie’s mom reported her daughter’s sexual assault to Rogers High School officials on December 8. State law requires all allegations of sexual assault be reported to law enforcement within 48 hours.

Puyallup School District didn’t report Kallie’s claims to the Pierce County Sherrif’s Office until January 30.

Per district policy, an investigative report should have been by December 28. The investigation should have been concluded or extended by January 7.

But Puyallup School District didn’t open an investigation into Kallie’s experience until February 20 — two and a half months after the initial assault. They have since taken four 30-day extensions.

As of now, the investigation is expected to conclude on June 22.

In the meantime, ADF says Kallie has experienced serious harassment at school. Her wrestling teammates blamed her for getting the team’s coaches in trouble. At least one of her coaches refused to acknowledge her. The lawsuit reads:

Because of the way she was treated by district employees and fellow students whose behavior the district didn’t stop … [Kallie] was emotionally unable to attend or remain at school on certain days following the article’s publication [by journalist Brandi Kruse in February].

ADF is not the only one who believes Washington state is violating Title IX. The Department of Education opened an investigation into Puyallup School District on February 13 for the same offenses.

ADF also alleges Washington state education officials violated parental rights by concealing the identity of boys playing in girls sports.

Following the assault, Kallie’s mom sought special permission for her daughter to wrestle for a different high school — one with a team that didn’t actively antagonize her.

The request was denied.

Kallie’s mom then asked that she and her daughter be informed every time Kallie would compete against a male and that Kallie be allowed to skip the match without any negative consequences.

Again, her request was denied.

Kallie’s mom tried one more time, asking that she and Kallie be informed when Kallie was set to wrestle a male so she could choose to forfeit the match.

Per the filing, Title IX Coordinator Dr. Brobbey informed her the district interprets the state’s mandatory inclusivity policies to “prohibit staff from informing parents or students when girls are set to compete against males in sports or from allowing parental opt-out rights in these situations.”

“Its position is to conceal when males compete against girls in sports,” ADF sums up.

Kallie did not compete in sports for the rest of the 2025-2026 school year because she had no assurance she would be competing against female competitors.

The Fourteenth Amendment grants parents’ freedom to exercise their parental responsibilities, which includes protecting their children from physical harm. Schools should absolutely inform parents if their child is pitted against or forced to change in front of a member of the opposite sex — at the barest of minimums.

Ideally, all schools would follow the law.

The suit asks Kallie not be made to compete against any males in any sport, that she and her mom be informed of any upcoming competitions against males competing in female categories and that she be returned all the accolades taken from her by male athletes.

Speaking of the barest of minimums … it seems like the least they can do.

Additional Articles and Resources

4 Developments in Case of High School Wrestler Allegedly Assaulted by Male Opponent

Washington School District Buries Female Wrestler’s Sexual Assault Complaint Against Male Opponent

Another Male Won Awards At Another Girls Track and Field Championship

Male Athlete Wins Three Girls California Track and Field Titles — Again

Photo courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom.

‘Protect Kids Colorado’ Qualifies Three Child Safety Ballot Measures for November

Protect Kids Colorado announced that all three of its state ballot measures to safeguard children qualified for the November ballot. 

In an entirely grassroots effort, the child safety and parental rights advocacy group gathered more than 500,000 total signatures for the initiatives.

The first measure, Initiative 108, would give predators convicted of trafficking children a life sentence; Initiative 109 would prevent males from participating in girls sports; while Initiative 110 would prohibit irreversible “transgender” surgeries for minors.

Protect Kids Colorado Executive Director Erin Lee announced the victory in a post on X, acknowledging the enormous effort from supporters: 

All 3 @ProtectKidsCO measures are officially ON THE BALLOT! 

# 108: The Children Are Not For Sale Act 

# 109: The Protect Girls’ Sports Act 

# 110: The Protect Kids from Irreversible Sex-Rejecting Surgeries Act 

People from every walk of life stepped up, sacrificed, and continue to fight for what matters. And because of ALL of you, the people will have a voice. 

In an email, Lee thanked volunteers who spent six months collecting signatures at hundreds of churches, grocery stores, ministries, colleges and signing events around the state: 

This is more than a milestone – it’s a historic, grassroots achievement powered by people across Colorado. What many said was impossible, you made a reality.
More than 3,300 petition carriers, 1,900+ notaries, hundreds of churches, and so many supporters stepped up – getting signatures, giving, sharing and showing up day after day. Every conversation, signature, and hour mattered.

Some volunteers faced anger and vitriol from transgender activists and their allies as they explained the ballot measures to registered voters. 

Collecting more than 165,000 signatures for each measure on a shoestring budget really was an extraordinary achievement. The Rocky Mountain Voice reported that Protect Kids Colorado raised $220,000 to fund the drive to place all three measures on the ballot.

By way of comparison, Let’s Go Washington spent almost $4.4 million to place two citizen-initiated measures, protecting girls sports and parental rights in education, on the November ballot. 

The notoriously radical Colorado Legislature considered three bills that would have done exactly what the ballot measures do – but each piece of legislation was voted down along party lines in House committees. 

The Children are Not for Sale Act, which would have given life sentences to those who traffic children, was defeated in the Judiciary Committee in a 4-7 vote. The Protect Female Sports Act was killed in the State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs Committee with a 3-8 vote. And a measure to Safeguard Minors from Sex-Altering Interventions failed to move forward, losing a 5-7 vote in the Health & Human Services Committee. 

So now, it’s up to Colorado voters to do what the Legislature would not: Give those convicted of trafficking minors a life sentence without parole; protect girls sports – and their privacy and safety – from male athletes; and protect minors from irreversible, body damaging transgender surgeries. 

Related articles and resources: 

‘Art Club’ Documentary — One Family’s Escape from Gender Ideology, and the Bigger Trend Sweeping the Nation

Athletes Rally at Supreme Court to Keep Boys Out of Girls Sports

Colorado Committee Kills ‘Children Are Not for Sale Bill’

Exclusive Interview: Colorado Parents Expose ‘Gender Cult’ at Public School in New Documentary

One Mom’s Journey Advocating for Children and Parental Rights

Protect Kids Colorado

Sign These Three Ballot Petitions to Protect Kids and Parental Rights in Colorado

Supreme Court to Hear Title IX Girls Sports Case

Protect Kids Colorado

Top 5 Moments From Supreme Court Arguments Over Girls Sports

Washington State Citizens Fight for Parents’ Rights, Girls Sports

Over Half a Million Signatures Collected to Protect Kids and Parental Rights in Colorado

Last week, Protect Kids Colorado submitted over half a million signatures to the Colorado secretary of state in support of three statewide ballot initiatives centered on child protection, parental rights and fairness in girls sports.

The citizen-driven effort represents an “unprecedented” and “against all odds” massive mobilization — not powered by a political party or corporate funding, but by more than 3,300 volunteers standing outside grocery stores, attending local gatherings and knocking on doors across the state.

Each measure requires at least 124,238 valid signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot. All three initiatives exceeded that threshold by a significant margin — though the secretary of state has yet to officially verify the signatures.

Here are the details and stats on each measure.

Stop Child Sex Trafficking

• Measure #108: Colorado’s Children Are Not For Sale

• Imposes life in prison without parole for anyone who buys or sells a minor for sex in Colorado.

• 170,000+ signatures collected and submitted.

Protect Girls Sports

• Measure #109: Protect Women and Girls Act

• Requires Colorado athletic teams to be specifically designated as male, female or co-ed. It unequivocally declares that only biological females will play in female sports.

• 170,000+ signatures collected and submitted.

Ban Irreversible “Transgender” Surgeries on Minors

• Measure #110: Protect Children from Irreversible Sex Change Surgery Act 

• Prohibits irreversible transgender surgeries for anyone under the age of 18.

• 164,000+ signatures collected and submitted.

Videos posted by Erin Lee, executive director of Protect Kids Colorado, on her X account captured the moment boxes of petitions were delivered to the secretary of state.

The deliveries were more than just a step in the process — they represented hundreds of thousands of conversations taking place in parking lots and churches and at youth sporting events and kitchen tables all across Colorado. 

If the required number of signatures is confirmed by the Colorado secretary of state, Colorado voters will have the final say over whether these measures become state law. 

Earlier this legislative session, proposals addressing similar policy concerns as those raised in the ballot measures were introduced. In several instances, the bills were indefinitely postponed in committee — a procedural action that effectively kills them.

Advocates of the legislation (and ballot measures) view this as evidence that the citizen initiative is the only current plausible way forward to positively change the law.

Colorado’s Constitution specifically provides the citizen initiative process for exactly this kind of situation.

Focus on the Family is a proud supporter of this grassroots effort to protect children and parental rights. 

Since the signature gathering began, we’ve been encouraging our friends and allies to help the effort and sign petitions. 

Now, we wait prayerfully as the Colorado secretary of state verifies signatures, which is expected to take several weeks.

Congratulations and well done to Protect Kids Colorado and the thousands of volunteers who worked tirelessly to keep kids safe and protect parental rights! 

Related articles:

Sign These Three Ballot Petitions to Protect Kids and Parental Rights in Colorado

Colorado Committee Kills ‘Children Are Not for Sale Bill’

Protect Kids Colorado

Activist Erin Friday on Protecting Kids and Fighting ‘Gender’ Ideology

Read part one of the Daily Citizen‘s interview with pro-child activist Erin Friday here.

Child Protective Services knocked on Erin Friday’s door in 2020 after she refused to treat her 13-year-old daughter as a boy. Now, the attorney and activist fights every day to protect the rights of parents who affirm their children’s biological sex.

Not everyone can draft legislation or lobby America’s most powerful leaders, as Friday does. But everyone can contribute to the fight to protect kids and parents from gender ideology.

First and foremost, Friday tells the Daily Citizen, parents must talk to their kids about sex and biology before LGBT activists do.

“Gender ideologues are getting to our kids in preschool, before we think we even have to talk about this,” Friday warns. “We just really need to get out in front of it.”

She suggests parents start teaching their children about their bodies as young as two years old, emphasizing:

  • Everyone’s body is beautiful.
  • No one can their change sex.
  • No one is born in the wrong body.
  • There can’t be a mismatch between your brain and body.

Parents can teach these foundational concepts using Focus on the Family-approved children’s books like I Don’t Have to Choose, Elephants are Not Birds and She is She.

You can access the full list of age-appropriate books here.

Parents should also teach their kids to distrust people who encourage them to hide something from their parents, Friday recommends. LGBT activists in schools frequently coach children to hide their sexual identity confusion from their parents.

“If parents don’t think it’s happening at their school, they’re wrong,” she emphasizes. “It’s happening at every school, including Catholic schools [and] private schools.”

Learning about gender ideology and its impact on kids and parental rights can feel overwhelming — but it’s not an impossible task. Friday recommends parents read Miriam Grossman’s Lost in Trans Nation and Erin Brewer’s Parenting in a Transgender World to get the lay of the land.

Focus on the Family offers a wide range of resources to help parents understand and combat gender ideology in their homes, classrooms, churches and communities. You can view the resource list here.

Education is just the first step toward joining Friday in the fight against gender ideology. Change simply does not occur without the courage and sacrifice of ordinary people.

“We need people showing up,” Friday says frankly. “It does us no good if people just complain about this and stay at their kitchen table.”

The easiest way to get involved, says Friday, is to write, call and email your political representatives to show you care about parents’ rights and want to see them protected.

Friday also recommends donating to nonprofits supporting parents and families — particularly those which help parents who do not affirm sexual identity confusion to fight for custody of their children.

If parents run out of ideas, Friday says her organization, Our Duty USA, will put them to work or connect them to local efforts to promoting parents’ rights.

To learn about parental rights issues affecting your state and find ways to get involved, Focus on the Family recommends contacting your local Family Policy Council.

The Daily Citizen appreciates Friday’s courage and clarity in protecting kids from sex-rejecting interventions. We encourage parents and citizens to use the resources above to get involved in the fight.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

Additional Articles and Resources

Counseling Services

Transgender Resources

Erin Friday on Family Courts, ‘Transgender’ Sanctuary States and Fighting to Protect Parental Rights

Proposed Executive Order Would Protect Parental Rights

Athletes Rally at Supreme Court to Keep Boys Out of Girls Sports

Indiana Family Loses Custody of Son Over Religious Beliefs; Supreme Court Won’t Hear Case

‘Art Club’ Documentary—One Family’s Escape from Gender Ideology, and the Bigger Trend Sweeping the Nation

HHS Finalizes Report Finding Sex-Rejecting Procedures Harm Minors

HHS Releases Report on Harms of ‘Transgender’ Medical Interventions for Minors