Mirabelli v. Bonta

The U.S. Supreme Court granted Thomas More Society’s emergency application in Mirabelli v. Bonta (2026), and held in a 6-3 per curiam opinion that California’s Parental Exclusion Policies—which forced teachers to hide children’s gender transitions from parents during school hours—likely violate parents’ rights under both the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Building on its holding in Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025), where the Court applied strict scrutiny when a school district refused to let parents opt out of LGBTQ+ storybooks, the Court found that California’s “intrusion on parents’ free exercise rights—unconsented facilitation of a child’s gender transition—is greater than the introduction of LGBTQ storybooks we considered sufficient to trigger strict scrutiny in Mahmoud.”

The ruling restored the class-wide permanent injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez, protecting a statewide class of parents opposed to California’s Parental Exclusion Policies. The Court rejected arguments against class certification, finding it was likely proper—ensuring the restored injunction applies statewide.

The case began in 2023, when Thomas More Society filed a federal lawsuit for two teachers—Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West—who stood up against California’s state-enforced Parental Exclusion Policies. After securing a preliminary injunction in September 2023, the case evolved into a civil rights class action that included teachers and parents harmed by these unconstitutional policies. After Judge Benitez entered a class-wide permanent injunction, California appealed. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in March 2026, the injunction protecting parents remains in effect.