California’s school gender identity privacy law faces new setback in federal court

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The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked enforcement of a California law this week that prevents school employees from being required to disclose information related to a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression to their parents or any other person without their consent, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The ruling, which said the state law could be unconstitutional, puts it on hold while a legal battle over it continues. 

Assembly Bill 1955, known as the SAFETY Act, was passed in 2024 to protect children from families who could be hostile to their transgender children, according to supporters. But a growing movement calling for “parental rights” have demanded an end to the law.

The court had previously allowed the law to stand while the state fought an injunction from a Santa Ana district court. But the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the temporary hold on the law, sending it back to the appellate court.

There are several court cases on the matter headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, most championed by conservative activists, according to the Los Angeles Times.