Law firm: California’s gender policies violate Constitution

By Chris Woodward
The Center Square

A law firm is putting California Attorney General Rob Bonta on notice about keeping parents in the dark about their children’s gender transitions.

Liberty Justice Center told Bonta in a letter Tuesday that approximately 600 California school districts are violating federal law and the U.S. Constitution by using California’s Assembly Bill 1955 to justify policies that conceal students’ gender transitions from their parents.

Liberty Justice Center attorney Tim Snowball said parents have a right to be notified.

“So our letter to the attorney general is to put him on notice of that fact and to remind him of his obligations as a legal officer into the state of California, but also the obligation of these school districts to comply with the federal Constitution,” Snowball told The Center Square.

To be specific, Liberty Justice Center said schools are violating the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as well as the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Snowball added that parents have the primary responsibility to raise their children as they see fit.

“The Supreme Court has made that abundantly clear in recent years, even just several months ago,” said Snowball, referring to the case Mirabelli v. Bonta in March 2026.

Mirabelli v. Bonta was a 6-3 decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court granted an emergency application to lift a previous appeals court freeze. The high court ruled that the state’s policies likely violate parents’ Free Exercise and Due Process rights under the First and 14th Amendments. The Center Square covered the case and ruling.

In addition to its letter to Bonta, Liberty Justice Center has launched the Parental Action and Rights Enforcement to ensure Notice, Transparency and Safety (PARENTS) Initiative.

Snowball described it as a “rapid response watchdog” to any families dealing with social experimentation at the school district level.

He noted parents do not give up their parental rights when their child walks through the schoolhouse doors.

“We’re going to be there to back them up,” said Snowball.

Meanwhile, The Center Square asked Snowball what happens if Bonta ignores the letter.

“I think there’s a very good chance that he will, unfortunately, but as we make clear in the letter, this is part of the purpose of what we’re doing here,” said Snowball, “to put him on notice that these school districts that are acting this way, contrary to the federal Constitution, are putting themselves at risk of lawsuits and perhaps federal investigations.”

The Center Square asked the U.S. Department of Education for comment but did not receive a response.

Attorney General Bonta’s Office confirmed to The Center Square that it is aware of Liberty Justice Center’s announcement and letter but declined to say anything else at this time.

“Our hope here is that launching the Parents Initiative, we’re going to start hearing from more parents that perhaps are living within these school districts, and we’re going to be able to represent them in court,” said Snowball. “If the facts and the law are in our favor, we’re going to be able to sue them, and again, it would be ideal for Bonta to inform these districts of their obligations under the federal Constitution and for those school districts to voluntarily comply, but if they decide not to do so, then Liberty Justice Center’s going to be here to back them up.”

Elsewhere in the Southwest, an Arizona congressman and the state schools superintendent are supporting a federal bill that would ban teaching gender ideology in public elementary and middle schools, as reported Tuesday by The Center Square.

And in New Mexico, Independent Women, a nonprofit, has launched a campaign demanding transparency from education leaders over gender ideology in K-12 schools, which was also reported Tuesday by The Center Square.