Amicus Brief: Mirabelli v. Bonta
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Across the country, public-school officials are socially transitioning students by using new names and pronouns that reflect an asserted gender identity, without informing parents or obtaining their consent. In California, state policies required school employees to facilitate a student’s gender transition upon request, regardless of parental notice or consent.
Teachers Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West challenged those policies, and parents later joined the suit, alleging that California’s policies violated their constitutional rights to direct their children’s upbringing and make decisions concerning their mental health. The district court ultimately entered summary judgment and a permanent injunction in favor of the plaintiffs. Shortly thereafter, the Ninth Circuit stayed the injunction.
On appeal, the Supreme Court subsequently vacated most of the Ninth Circuit's stay, concluding that the parent plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their due-process and free-exercise claims. California nevertheless pressed its appeal, seeking to vacate or narrow the injunction protecting parents.
Manhattan Institute, Defending Education, and MI senior fellow Leor Sapir have filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit supporting the plaintiffs. The brief explains that social transition is not a neutral accommodation, but an active mental-health intervention that likely affects whether childhood gender distress persists and thus increases the likelihood of unnecessary medicalization.
Drawing on medical research and recent evidence reviews, including HHS’s 2025 review of treatments for pediatric gender dysphoria, the brief explains that the benefits and long-term effects of social transition remain poorly understood. Because decisions about social transition implicate children’s mental and physical health, the brief argues that they fall within parents’ constitutionally protected rights to direct the upbringing and healthcare of their children.
Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.
Leor Sapir is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
John Ketcham is a legal policy fellow and director of Cities at the Manhattan Institute.
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