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District Court Mandates Parental Option to Opt Out of Gender Identity Activities in Buddy Program

In a decision signed on May 12, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California prohibited the Encinitas Union School District (District) from covering gender identity topics in health instruction in its elementary school buddy program, unless it provides parents with advance notice and an opportunity to opt out.

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Ninth Circuit Establishes Preliminary Framework for First Amendment Familial Antiretaliation Claims

In DeFrancesco v. Robbins (9th Cir. 2025) 136 F.4th 933, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that university officials were entitled to qualified immunity in an action brought by a former employee alleging violation of his First Amendment right to be free from retaliation for his husband’s allegedly protected whistleblowing speech.

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A Supreme Split on Religion-Based Charter Schools

On May 22, 2025, in a 4-4 split decision, the United States Supreme Court upheld an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision denying approval of a religion-based charter school on the grounds that approval of the charter would violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution.

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Ninth Circuit Remands Case to Trial Court to Determine if District Policy Regarding Disclosure of Student’s Gender Identity to Parents Implicates a “Fundamental Liberty Interest”

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has vacated the decision of the Eastern District of California dismissing a parent-plaintiff’s constitutional facial and as-applied challenges to the Chico Unified School District’s (District) Administrative Regulation (AR) 5145.3 - Nondiscrimination/Harassment (the Policy), specifically as it relates to student gender identity,

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California Court Checks The State Board of Education on Charter School Appeal

In Napa Valley Unified School District v. State Board of Education (Cal. Ct. App., Mar. 14, 2025, No. C099068), California’s Third District Court of Appeal examined the discretion afforded to charter school authorizers in approving or denying charter petitions.

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Ninth Circuit Addresses Due Process Rights of Students in Relation to Suspensions

In K.J. by and through Johnson v. Jackson (9th Cir. 2025) 127 F.4th 1239, the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the procedural due process rights outlined in Goss v. Lopez (1975) 419 U.S. 565 must be observed when imposing a suspension or extending a suspension based on new allegations or evidence.

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