In City of Huntington Beach v. Gavin Newsom, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (which does not have jurisdiction over Illinois) preliminarily enjoined enforcement of a state law that prohibits school districts from requiring employees to notify parents about their student’s gender identity.
The dispute centered on California’s Assembly Bill 1955 (“AB 1955”), known as the SAFETY Act, which prohibited school districts from adopting policies that require school employees to notify parents when a student discloses or expresses a gender identity or gender expression at school. After the law was enacted in 2024, the City of Huntington Beach and several parent plaintiffs challenged it in federal court, arguing that it interfered with parents’ constitutional rights to receive information about their children and to direct their children’s upbringing and education.
The federal district court originally denied the plaintiffs’ request for preliminary relief, and the case proceeded to the Ninth Circuit, which affirmed the district court decision. While the plaintiffs’ appeal was pending, the legal landscape changed when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Mirabelli v. Bonta in 2026. In Mirabelli, the Supreme Court concluded that parents challenging similar California policies were likely to succeed on constitutional claims relating to parental rights and allowed injunctive relief to take effect while that case continued. Following the Mirabelli ruling, the Huntington Beach plaintiffs asked the Ninth Circuit to reconsider their request for a preliminary injunction.
In its June 18, 2026, opinion, the Ninth Circuit granted relief to the plaintiffs and issued a preliminary injunction against portions of AB 1955. The Ninth Circuit concluded that, in light of Mirabelli, the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claims and had shown sufficient “standing” to challenge the statute. The Ninth Circuit emphasized that parents are not merely indirect observers of school policies affecting their children. Instead, parents are the intended “objects” of laws that restrict the flow of information between schools and parents regarding a child’s gender identity or gender expression.
The Ninth Circuit’s reasoning relied heavily on Mirabelli’s recognition of longstanding constitutional protections for parental decision-making. According to the court, Mirabelli reaffirmed that parents have a significant constitutional interest in participating in important decisions concerning their children’s education and mental health. Since AB 1955 expressly barred school districts from adopting mandatory parent-notification policies that the plaintiffs argued the Constitution requires in certain circumstances, the Ninth Circuit held that preliminary injunctive relief was warranted while the litigation continues. The case is not fully resolved, but the Ninth Circuit’s decision is a significant victory for the parent plaintiffs and signals the growing influence and importance of the Mirabelli Supreme Court decision.
Contact any of our student/special education practice group attorneys with your inquiries. We will discuss the decision (with the benefit of some hindsight) at our fall Year in Review conferences.
Source: City of Huntington Beach v. Newsom, No. 25-3826 (9th Cir. 2026)
