The California Department of Education (CDE) collaborated with 19 LGBTQ+ advocacy groups to push transgender directives into mandatory statewide teacher training, despite telling courts those directives were rescinded, according to the Thomas More Society (TMS).
The TMS announced Tuesday evening that it filed new court documents after gaining access to the CDE’s six-course online training titled Providing Relevant, Inclusive Support that Matters for LGBTQ+ Students (PRISM). According to their site, the lengthy training is designed for “certificated educators to provide resources to bolster support for LGBTQ+ youth” in the state.
The CDE claimed in court that it had withdrawn directives prohibiting teachers from informing parents when a student expresses a desire to socially transition at school. These orders were previously listed on its FAQ page.
However, according to the TMS filing, despite telling the court the CDE removed their FAQ page, the department instead relocated the same content elsewhere.
“Thus, the State Defendants have repeatedly argued that Plaintiffs’ case was moot because they had taken down the FAQ page, when in reality they had simply moved the content to a new location, difficult for Plaintiffs to obtain access to, but which all teachers would ultimately be required to read,” one of the TMS’ filings states. “This is an egregious attempt to mislead the Court.”
After gaining full access to PRISM, the TMS found materials echoing the same directives instructing teachers to hide student’s new gender identities from their parents, also called a gender secrecy policy.
In a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation, TMS’ special counsel and partner at LiMandri & Jonna, Paul M. Jonna, stated the group looks forward to holding the CDE and California Attorney General Rob Bonta fully accountable for “damage” done to parents and teachers.
“No reasonable person thinks it makes sense for the state to step in the shoes of parents, facilitate a young child’s social transition in secret, and to force teachers to participate in the deception,” Jonna said. “As Judge Benitez stated back in 2023 when he granted our motion for preliminary injunction: these policies constitute a ‘trifecta of harm’ – harming parents, teachers, and students.”
“They’re dangerous and unconstitutional, and they will soon be eradicated on behalf of a statewide class of parents and teachers,” Jonna added.
The group alleges that the CDE not only maintained its policy but partnered with 19 LGBTQ+ advocacy groups including the ACLU, Equality California, Our Family Coalition, The Trevor Project, and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), to distribute the “identical directives.”
A portion of PRISM’s training states it will equip “certificated educators with the knowledge, skills, and resources to actively prevent bullying, harassment, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ students.” According to a video course obtained by the TMS, the training goes on to urge teachers to advocate for “gender-affirming” policies, including a hyperlink to a model district policy prepared by GLSEN.
“School staff shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student’s transgender status to others, including parents or guardians …” the model policy from GLSEN states, according to TMS.
In July 2024, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1955, known as the SAFETY Act. The act prohibits educational entities’ employees or contractors from being required to disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression unless otherwise mandated by law. California is the first state to enact such a measure.
By March 2025, the Trump administration launched an investigation into the CDE over the SAFETY Act. The U.S. Department of Education suggested the policy may violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which grants parents access to their children’s educational records.
PRISM directs teachers and school staff to additional resources, including an Our Family Coalition memo titled “School Legal Responsibilities,” as well as an ACLU webpage reiterating identical gender secrecy directives.
“School staff must respect students’ right to privacy and may not affirmatively disclose a student’s LGBTQ status to others without the student’s permission … ” the Our Family Coalition resource states, according to the TMS.
TMS’ new filing comes after Bush-appointed U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez certified a class-action lawsuit, Mirabelli v. Olson, on Oct. 15, representing all California parents and teachers affected by school district policies that conceal children’s gender transitions from their families.
The CDE and Bonta’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Judge Benitez on Nov. 7 ordered the CDE and counsel from Bonta’s office to appear in court and explain why they should not be sanctioned after TMS filed its first evidence alleging the CDE “deceived” the judiciary in its filing.
The lawsuit represents more than 300,000 California public school teachers and parents of over 5 million students who objected to gender secrecy policies.
A summary judgment hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17.
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