Penna Dexter

This is the second story I have been pleased to tell in recent weeks in which a school district backed down from violating the First Amendment religious freedom of students and parents.

In this case, First Liberty Institute had to sue California’s Encinitas Union School District in federal court.

Perhaps school officials in this beach community didn’t understand, or simply chose to ignore, the United States Supreme Court’s June 2024 ruling, in Mahmoud v.Taylor.  

First Liberty’s CEO Kelly Shackelford explains that according to that decision, parents cannot be denied “the right to receive notice and opt-outs from any teaching that substantially interferes with their religious beliefs.” The ruling gives clear guidance for what happened in Encinitas.

Kayla Toney, counsel for First Liberty, says, “We represent two Christian families whose fifth graders were forced to teach their kindergarten buddies about gender ideology using a book called My Shadow is Pink.” 

The story’s main character is a boy who sees his shadow as pink. According to the book, the pink shadow reveals “your innermost you.” So, the boy wears a dress to school. His father decides this is ok and puts on a dress too.

A teacher at La Costa Heights Elementary read the book aloud to fifth graders. As part of the school’s mentoring program, fifth grade students were assigned to watch a video of the reading with their kindergarten “buddy.” Then, the fifth graders were supposed to ask their kindergartner what color shadow represents them and to draw the shadow with chalk.

Parents of some fifth graders had a problem with their 10-and-11-year-olds being required to tell little kids to question their own gender identity. The parents asked to be notified of future similar teaching and given the right to opt out. A district court ruled for the parents. The next step was the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. But, the district voluntarily withdrew their appeal.

It looks like they “saw the writing on the wall.”