A public school district in an idyllic beach town north of San Diego is finally acknowledging a Supreme Court decision to allow opt-outs for parents and students when schools are promoting leftist gender ideology.
The Encinitas Union School District was sued by a fifth-grade student, Shea Encinas, who was forced to teach a fellow student an ideology that conflicted with his and his family’s religious beliefs on sex and gender. Last year, Shea’s fifth-grade teacher read him the book My Shadow is Pink, a story about a young boy who wants to be a girl. Then the school instructed Shea to show a video version of the book to his “buddy,” a kindergarten student, and prompt the younger boy to decide if he felt like his shadows were pink or blue.
Since the incident, Shea has traveled to speak with President Donald Trump about religious liberties and parental rights. Last month, the school district dropped its appeal, a huge win for parental rights not just in the Golden State, but also across the country.
This spring, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of parents in Mahmoud v. Taylor, affirming that parents have a right to know and approve of what their minor children are being taught. The Encinitas School district must have known it had no legal standing to win its appeal, even in the very liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
This problem is not native to California. Seven states have laws on the books mandating LGBT “inclusive” curriculum in schools. Florida led the way in pushing back on this trend with its feared and mocked “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that had the Left up in arms for months. The legislation was a guide to six other states that enacted requirements saying parents must be given a heads up before a school district can teach transgender ideology, teach LGBT curriculum, or read gender-based books, etc.
When Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders in state legislatures made sure to protect student’s religious rights, leftists in blue states such as New York and California swung the opposite direction to make sure they could virtue signal to their core voters that they were fine with pushing a transgender agenda to minors.
This gave radical teachers and administrators the cover they wanted to push their political agenda and circumvent parents and children. Shea and other kids were bullied so badly and targeted by educators in the school that he and another student had to leave. So much for tolerance.
The school district blatantly ignored the federal precedent to give parents a three-day notice. Teachers and administrators ignored the Encinas family’s previous “opt out” documentation. They ignored the rights of Shea and his parents. People like that should not be teaching and molding young hearts and minds. If your politics are affecting your ability to treat children with dignity, respect, and compassion, then you should not be teaching.
If this were the story of an evangelical teacher trying to use conversion therapy on an elementary school student without parental approval, you bet there’d be a national outcry. The ACLU, the National Education Association, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and more would proclaim that intolerance and hate have no place in the classroom.
CALIFORNIA CAN’T KEEP TRACK OF ITS USELESS BUREAUCRACIES
So, why is it any different when a child is forced to read and teach something he himself does not agree with? A fifth grader should not have his entire life turned upside down for a political agenda.
California Family Council’s Vice President Greg Burt said it best: “The Encinas family’s courage has secured critical protections for parents across California.” These cases matter, and these families who endure discrimination, ostracization, and drastic life changes for standing up for their core beliefs should be lauded as heroes.
Elisha Krauss is a conservative commentator and speaker who resides in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and their four children. She is an advocate for women’s rights, school choice, and smaller government.