Mirabelli v. Bonta
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
In a landmark 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that California's secret gender transition policies in schools violate parents' constitutional rights — delivering one of the most significant parental rights rulings in a generation.
[These] policies cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents.
Mirabelli v. Bonta
The Court rejected California’s premise that the state knows better than parents, affirming that it is parents—not bureaucrats—who are the primary protectors of their children.
THE RULING
What the Court decided
The U.S. Supreme Court granted Thomas More Society’s emergency application in Mirabelli v. Bonta (2026), and held in a 6-3 opinion that California’s Parental Exclusion Policies—which forced teachers to hide children’s gender transitions from parents—violate parents’ Free Exercise and Due Process rights.
Building on its holding in Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025), where the Court applied strict scrutiny when a school district refused to let parents opt out of LGBTQ+ storybooks, the Court found that California’s “intrusion on parents’ free exercise rights—unconsented facilitation of a child’s gender transition—is greater than the introduction of LGBTQ storybooks we considered sufficient to trigger strict scrutiny in Mahmoud.”
This historic ruling restored the class-wide permanent injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez, protecting a statewide class of parents opposed to California’s Parental Exclusion Policies. The Court rejected arguments against class certification, ensuring the restored injunction applies statewide.
The Mirabelli case began in 2023, when Thomas More Society filed a federal lawsuit for two teachers—Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West—who stood up against California’s state-enforced Parental Exclusion Policies. After securing a preliminary injunction in September 2023, the case expanded into a civil rights class action that included teachers and parents harmed by these unconstitutional policies. After Judge Benitez entered a class-wide permanent injunction, California appealed. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in March 2026, which established binding precedent for the entire country, the Mirabelli injunction protecting parents remains in effect across California.
Parents—not the State—have primary authority with respect to ‘the upbringing and education of children.’
Mirabelli v. Bonta
Drawing on a century of established precedent, the Court reaffirmed the bedrock constitutional principle that the right to raise one’s children belongs to parents, not the government. With this decision, the Court brings longstanding precedent into the 21st century, reshaping and strengthening the legal landscape for parental rights.
CASE TIMELINE
Our path to the Supreme Court
From two teachers in Escondido, California, to a landmark Supreme Court victory.
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PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS
The Court has spoken. Now it’s time to act.
Thomas More Society is enforcing the Mirabelli decision across the country by taking legal action and giving parents the tools to protect their families today.
Your district won’t comply? We’ll take action.
California’s policies conceal that information from parents and facilitate a degree of gender transitioning during school hours. These policies likely violate parent’s rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children.
Mirabelli v. Bonta
Recognizing that real children and real families have suffered lasting harm from Parental Exclusion Policies, the Court’s decision puts parents back in the driver's seat.
KEY DOCUMENTS
Filings and legal documents
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NEWS AND DEVELOPMENTS
Latest on Mirabelli
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