After court case, district lets families skip LGBT classes

A Southern California public school district agreed to let families opt out of lessons and materials promoting gender ideology. Parents will be notified in advance of such lessons at the Encinitas Union School District, the National Center for Law & Policy said in a statement Wednesday. Parents can now exclude their children from lessons if they undermine the families’ religious beliefs. The school’s agreement marked a win for parent rights, student rights, and religious freedom, according to the nonprofit legal center, which is based in California.

The school district also agreed to settle with the affected families for $175,000, the center said. Two years ago, families sued the district after their children, two fifth-grade Christian boys, were exposed to transgender-affirming lessons. The National Center for Law & Policy and First Liberty Institute represented the family as they asked a federal district court to protect their constitutional rights. The court issued an order on Monday approving the settlement and dismissing the case.

What led to the case? Two Christian families filed their lawsuit in September 2024 after a teacher promoted transgender views to their sons. They were read aloud a book that urged children to question their gender identities. The fifth-graders were then instructed to talk through the book with a kindergartener buddy as part of the school’s mentoring program. The fifth graders then had to ask the younger kids what color represented them. When the parents requested opt-outs from similar teachings in the future, district officials denied them. In 2025, a court issued a temporary ruling in favor of the families.

Dig deeper: Read Kayla Toney’s column for WORLD Opinions detailing how this case violated key parental rights.