Supreme Court Blocks California Law Restricting Parental Notification

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency order in early March 2026 that temporarily stopped California from enforcing a law about parental notification in schools. This development centers on whether educators must inform parents when students identify as transgender without the student's consent.

The Supreme Court's decision reinstated a previous lower-court order that had already blocked the California law from taking effect. The case, Mirabelli v. Bonta, addresses the state's approach to student privacy and parental rights in public schools.

California enacted the SAFETY Act (AB 1955) in July 2024, which prohibited school districts from requiring teachers to notify parents if a student changed pronouns or gender expression without the student's approval. The law aimed to prevent mandatory disclosure of a student's LGBTQ+ identity to parents unless the student consented.

In December 2025, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled that the state's policy was unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction against enforcing what he referred to as "parental exclusion policies." The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later issued an emergency stay in January 2026, pausing Judge Benitez's ruling while the appeals process continued.

What the numbers show

• The Supreme Court's 6-3 decision was issued on March 3, 2026
• The SAFETY Act (AB 1955) was enacted on July 15, 2024
• Judge Benitez issued a permanent injunction on December 22, 2025

The Supreme Court's majority, consisting of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, supported the order to allow parental notification. Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson dissented from the decision.

The Supreme Court's ruling requires California to permit public school teachers to inform parents if their child identifies as transgender, rejecting the state's policy that had previously restricted such notifications. This action temporarily blocks the enforcement of the law while legal proceedings continue.

The U.S. Department of Education's Student Privacy Policy Office found in January 2026 that the California Department of Education violated the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by urging schools to withhold information about students' gender transitions from parents. This finding added another federal perspective to the ongoing legal dispute.

Legal proceedings in Mirabelli v. Bonta continue as courts and agencies address the balance between student privacy and parental notification. The Supreme Court's intervention has shifted the immediate legal landscape for California schools regarding communication with parents about students' gender identity changes.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.