The Shredder is outraged that one of the candidates for a school board is a member of “The SLO County chapter of Moms for Liberty, an organization whose goal is to protect ‘parents’ rights.’ They want schools to notify them if their kids are going gay or trans. Rat kids out about their pronouns!” (“Read all about it,” Sept. 17).
Actually, on this point, Moms for Liberty is spot on. Parents do have rights. And California is wrong.
Perhaps you have forgotten Mirabelli v. Bonta, the U.S. Supreme Court’s March 2, 2026, decision holding that California’s policy directing school teachers and administrations not to inform parents of a student’s change of pronouns or gender would likely violate the constitutional rights of the parents?
SCOTUS upheld a permanent injunction against the state of California.
SCOTUS said: “The injunction prevents the schools from ‘misleading’ parents about their children’s gender presentation at school and their social transitioning efforts. … It also requires the schools to follow parents’ directions regarding their children’s names and pronouns. And it compels defendants to include in state-created or approved instructional materials a notice of the rights protected by the injunction.”
Too bad that most California school districts have not complied with the Constitution. Maybe they are like Alabama in 1954, nobly ignoring Brown v. Board of Education.
Is it outrageous for a parents organization to demand that California schools follow the Supreme Court’s decision? Or is it outrageous for the Shredder to urge the defiance of the Constitution?
Alex Karlin
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Oct 1-8, 2026.
