Judge blocks Trump admin from forcing California schools to out trans kidshttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/02/judge-blocks-admin-from-forcing-california-schools-to-out-trans-kids/ 🔗John Russell (13 Feb 2026)
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from withholding billions in federal funding to the state in retaliation for its refusal to allow schools to out transgender students to their parents.
As The Advocate reports, this week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and the Trump administration over its threat to withhold $4.9 billion in annual federal education funding unless the state allows local school districts to notify parents of students' social gender transitions, which would violate California law.
Last month, U.S. Department of Education (ED) accused the California Department of Education (CDE) of violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) — a federal law granting parents the right to access their child's education records. In a statement, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said CDE had "egregiously" abused its authority by "pressuring school officials to withhold information about students' so-called 'gender transitions' from their parents," under the state's Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act.
The 2024 law prohibits "parental notification" policies in school districts and protects teachers and administrators from retaliation if they choose not to follow district directives to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents. LGBTQ+ advocates contend that outing children to unsupportive parents without their consent can be dangerous, and Bonta and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond (D) have argued in court that students have a constitutional right to privacy from their parents in the state.
