Courts and Constitutional Law

A federal judge has ordered California to pay $4.5 million in taxpayer‑funded attorneys’ fees and related penalties to parents and teachers who successfully challenged the state’s SAFETY Act, which barred schools from requiring staff to notify parents when a student sought to change gender identity or pronouns. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, criticizing what he called the state’s "litigation intransigence," said the policy infringed families’ free‑exercise rights and parents’ constitutional authority over their children’s health and well‑being, calling the subject "among the most important areas of family life in America’s history and tradition." The order follows a March 6–3 Supreme Court emergency ruling that said California’s policy was likely unconstitutional and blocked its enforcement, a decision already prompting threats of similar lawsuits against school districts in other states. The plaintiffs, represented by conservative legal group Thomas More Society, argue the law effectively imposed a gag rule on teachers by forbidding them from informing parents about a child’s requested gender transition at school. The fee award signals how costly these constitutional fights can become for states and school systems, and will likely embolden further challenges to comparable gender‑secrecy policies around the country as advocacy groups advertise the Supreme Court’s intervention and this latest financial hit to California.