Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Two teachers in California who filed a federal lawsuit against the Escondido Unified School District in the San Diego area and the California Board of Education over a “transgender” policy have added Governor Gavin Newsom and California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, to their lawsuit.
Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West are Christians who taught for decades at Rincon Middle School. The school district placed them on administrative leave after they complained about a policy they said required them to lie to parents about their childrens’ “gender identity.”
The school told teachers to use students’ preferred names and opposite pronouns in school but to use their actual names when talking to parents. According to the Escondido Unified School District, such deception aligns with state law.
A federal judge last September temporarily blocked the “transgender” policy. The Christian Post reported that the same judge, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, ordered that the two women must be reinstated.
Gov. Newsom, by the way, does NOT like Judge Benitez.
Mirabelli and West said that the requirement to lie and keep secrets from parents conflicts with their religious beliefs and violates their First Amendment right to free speech.
Thomas More Society represents Mirabelli and West. Attorney Paul Jonna explained why the two plaintiffs decided to add the governor and the attorney general.
Gov. Newsom has ultimate responsibility to oversee California’s education system.
“The Escondido Union School District has asserted that it is compelled by the state to adopt and enforce parental exclusion policies in which California dictates the deception requiring teachers to lie to a parent about their students,” Jonna said. “That leads to the conclusion that the state, and therefore the governor, is the driving force behind the violation of Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West’s constitutional rights.”
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved
