For Immediate Release

The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), alongside 17 other leading national and statewide organizations with extensive expertise in LGBTQ+ youth advocacy, filed an amicus brief Tuesday that urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reverse a district court ruling in Mirabelli v. Olson, arguing that the decision exposes students to unacceptable risks and violates students’ rights.

The lower court decision requires California school teachers and staff to ignore students’ rights, when parents so demand, and use names and pronouns that don’t align with students’ identities.

“Every young person deserves the dignity of deciding when and how to share deeply personal information about who they are,” said Nina Monfredo, NCYL Attorney. “The district court’s ruling treats students as passive subjects of decisions made by adults, while ignoring their own rights, experiences, and safety. Schools should be places where young people can learn, grow, and seek support, not places where students are forced out before they’re ready.”

The amicus brief highlights extensive research showing that for LGBTQ+ youth, being supported and affirmed in their identities at school is correlated with a whole host of positive life outcomes, including increased feelings of safety, as well as health and academic benefits. Conversely, research shows that requiring school officials to disaffirm a student’s identity when the parent objects is more likely to harm the family relationship than strengthen it. The amicus brief argues that the lower court failed to take this into full account, and, as a result, the court’s decision exposes students to potentially severe emotional, psychological, and familial harms.

The brief also documents longstanding constitutional precedent that recognizes that young people are rights-bearing individuals. The Ninth Circuit must consider the lower court order in light of young peoples’ own independent constitutional rights, including rights to self-expression, privacy, and personal autonomy.

LGBTQ+ youth are already disproportionately represented in the foster system and face heightened risks of discrimination, instability, and abuse within the child welfare system. Putting more families in that system only compounds harm for youth.

Decisions about whether, when, and how to explore one’s gender identity are among the most personal choices a young person can make. Policies that undermine this process by forcing schools to discriminate against transgender and gender nonconforming students are a threat to all students. These policies strip students of their autonomy, jeopardize student well-being, and risk damaging crucial family relationships.

Respecting youth autonomy ultimately supports both youths’ independent rights and also their family integrity. Schools can and should partner with families while also recognizing that students have independent rights and that trust is essential to creating safe learning environments.

The organizations joining NCYL in Tuesday’s amicus brief filing include Advokids; California School-Based Health Alliance; Children Now; Children’s Law Center of California; Children’s Rights, Equality California; Equal Justice Society; Family Builders by Adoption; Family Equality; Genders & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) Network; Juvenile Law Center; LGBTQ+ Lawyers Association of Los Angeles; Movement for Family Power; National Health Law Program; Public Counsel; Public Justice; and The Children’s Partnership.

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The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transforms our nation’s approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves.