Are Secret Gender Transition Policies Unconstitutional? Mirabelli v. Bonta and the New Frontier in Parental Rights
Event Video
Parental rights advocates celebrate the recent victory in Mirabelli v. Bonta, where the Supreme Court granted emergency relief to parents challenging a school district policy and California law requiring school officials to hide a student's gender identity information from their parents. The majority in a 6-3 per curiam opinion found that the parents were likely to ultimately succeed on their claim that California’s policies violated their rights to freely exercise their religion and direct the upbringing and education of their children. The Court relied heavily on its 2025 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor that disallowing parents from opting kids out of LGBTQ-inclusive instruction unconstitutionally burdened their right to direct their children's religious upbringing.
Mirabelli concerned specific California policies, but the decision will necessarily impact secret transition policies nationwide. Does the outcome signal the Supreme Court's willingness to take similar cases in the future? Did the court stray from its Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization rationale regarding substantive due process in Mirabelli, or can both decisions be reconciled, despite Justice Kagan's dissenting opinion to the contrary? Are the Free Exercise Clause and substantive due process the most effective mechanisms for enforcing parental rights, or are there more suitable alternatives? Join us for a discussion with a panel of experts on what this case signals for the future of parental rights.
Featuring:
- Peter Breen, Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation, Thomas More Society; One of the Attorneys for the Mirabelli Plantiffs
- John Bursch, Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy, Alliance Defending Freedom
- Sarah Parshall Perry, Vice President & Senior Legal Fellow, Defending Education
- (Moderator) Eric Rassbach, Vice President and Senior Counsel, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.
