Two teachers at Rincon Middle School in California have filed a lawsuit against the Escondido Union School District for requiring them to use transgender students pronouns without informing their parents.
The district policy is designed to protect the privacy of transgender students, in accordance with California state guidelines. However, the teachers argue that the policy violates their constitutional rights and forces them to violate their faith by participating in deception and lying.
The teachers attorney, Paul Jonna, stated that The policy also forces [plaintiff] Elizabeth [Mirabelli] and others like her to violate faith She has constitutional rights that are being violated by this policy, which is forcing teachers to lie and participate in deception.
The lawsuit claims that the teachers religious freedom is more important than student safety, despite state education officials noting that outing a transgender student to their parents can lead to abuse and even homelessness for the child.
Rincon Middle School teachers Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West argue that it is their sincerely held religious belief that God made people innately and permanently male or female. They claim that the districts policy violates their constitutional rights and calls the trans students gender-confused children.
Mirabelli has two transgender students in her class, and she claims that their information was changed in the school records without their parents consent.
The districts policy follows California state guidelines that say trans students identities should be kept private unless the student gives consent or when necessary to protect a students physical or mental well-being. Federal and state laws ban discrimination based on gender identity in education.
Superintendent Luis Rankins-Ibarra stated that The Escondido Union School District is committed to providing a safe and positive environment that enables our students to learn and actualize their unlimited potential and that empowers our teachers to excel as educators As part of that commitment to student learning, the district observes all federal and state laws.
The teachers lawyer, who works for a firm that often works with the right-wing anti-abortion legal organization Thomas More Society, previously sued on behalf of a Christian student in 2021 who claimed that a schools COVID-19 vaccine mandate violated the students religious beliefs.
This case highlights the ongoing debate over transgender rights and religious freedom in the United States. While transgender students privacy and safety are protected by state and federal laws, some argue that these policies violate their religious beliefs.
The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for transgender students and their rights in California and beyond.
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