The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently reviewing four public school districts in California, examining whether these districts’ policies on sexual orientation and gender identity education may be infringing on students’ civil rights.
The four districts under review are all located in Northern California, covering education from preschool to 12th grade. They include San Francisco Unified School District, Graves Elementary School District, Santa Rita Union School District, and Soledad Unified School District.
This review will determine if these districts have complied with regulations, informing parents of their right to opt their children out of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum. It will also assess whether the districts’ practices align with federal protections against gender discrimination.
Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon, stated on June 8th, “The Department of Justice will not tolerate local education agencies trampling on parents’ rights when it comes to their children’s education.”
She indicated that recent Supreme Court rulings have sent a clear message to school districts nationwide, emphasizing that policies that involve gender and sexual orientation content in classrooms but deliberately keep parents uninformed must be ceased immediately.
California state law mandates that districts must provide sexual education courses to students, but it also grants parents the right to choose to opt their children out of such curriculum.
However, San Francisco Unified School District previously informed teachers that they do not need to obtain parental consent or provide advance notice when teaching or discussing content related to sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms.
According to the DOJ’s statement, issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity seem to have been integrated into California’s social studies and history curriculum.
This review will also cover policies that allow students to access single-gender private spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms based on their self-identified gender (rather than biological gender) and join girls’ sports teams. Since these four districts receive federal taxpayer funding, they must adhere to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits gender discrimination in educational programs and activities.
The DOJ will also examine whether these districts have followed the Supreme Court’s ruling in March of this year in the case of “Mirabelli v. Bonta.”
The ruling stated, “Plaintiffs argue that California’s policy dictates that schools can only inform parents about their children’s gender changes with the student’s consent.” Regarding California’s regulations, “Plaintiffs contend that these policies violate their rights under the First Amendment’s ‘free exercise clause’ and the Fourteenth Amendment’s ‘due process clause.'”
The Supreme Court ultimately granted an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group, halting California’s public school system from concealing policies on students’ gender identity changes from parents. The Court also referenced the 2025 case of “Mahmoud v. Taylor” in its judgment, emphasizing the authoritative role of parents in public school education.
The situation in California is not unique. In April of this year, the DOJ initiated similar reviews of 36 school districts in Illinois, focusing on whether sexual orientation and gender identity content is included in curriculum from preschool to 12th grade, and whether parents have received proper notification and are aware of their right to opt out.