California
California district ordered to reinstate Christian teachers placed on leave amid gender policy lawsuit
A federal judge ordered a California middle school to allow two school teachers suing district administrators and the California Board of Education over gender identity policies back into the classroom, months after the duo were placed on paid administrative leave last May.
“I’m shocked! I’m still processing. I cannot believe it,” Lori Ann West, one of the teachers behind the lawsuit, told San Diego’s FOX 5 last Wednesday.
Elizabeth Mirabelli, the other teacher involved in the case, will also be allowed to return to the classroom.
SCHOOL REQUIRED US TO LIE TO PARENTS ABOUT THEIR KIDS’ GENDER IDENTITY, CALIFORNIA TEACHERS CLAIM IN LAWSUIT
Lori Ann West (left), Thomas More society attorney Paul M. Jonna (center), Elizabeth Mirabelli (right). A judge ordered a California school district to allow two teachers back in the classroom last week. (Thomas More Society )
The issue began at Escondido’s Rincon Middle School last year when the duo alleged the district violated their First Amendment rights with a policy requiring them to accept a child’s preferred gender identity while also referring to the child in terms of biological identity and pronouns when in the presence of parents.
A transcript of a presentation to district staff from last February, previously obtained by Fox News Digital, found that teachers were told to “accept the student’s assertion of their gender identity and begin to treat the student immediately, consistently with that gender identity.”
“The student’s assertion is enough,” the transcript of the presentation said. “There is no need for a formal declaration. There’s no requirement for parent or caretaker agreement or even for knowledge for us to begin treating that student consistent with their gender identity.”
CHRISTIAN TEACHERS STILL LOCKED OUT OF THE CLASSROOM AFTER REFUSING TO ‘LIE TO PARENTS’: LAWSUIT
Gender identity policies remain a hot button issue in school districts across the U.S. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
The presentation additionally warned that refusing to affirm the child’s gender preference would constitute discrimination and harassment, per district policies.
Paul Jonna, special counsel representing the teachers, told Fox News Digital last year that West and Mirabelli were able to obtain a religious accommodation on the grounds of pronoun use and gender-specific names, but did not receive accomodation allowing them to notify parents of the child’s decision.
According to FOX 5’s report, the judge struck down the district’s privacy policy for allegedly violating the Constitution, meaning the teachers should have been allowed to return to work soon after, but that never happened.
“When the case was first filed, there was some retaliation and harassment directed at our clients,” Jonna said, according to the outlet.
LAWYER FOR CALIFORNIA TEACHERS: SCHOOLS REQUIRING THEM TO LIE TO PARENTS ABOUT KIDS’ GENDER IDENTITY
The Escondido Union School District urged teachers/staff to use students’ preferred pronouns and names. (Fox News)
“The investigation was supposed to be concluded in 30 days. It ended up taking over five months after the injunction issued. They told us the investigation was cleared, and then conveniently, the very next day or couple days later, they said, a new complaint had been made against Lori, and she’s going to be placed on leave again.”
Jonna later filed a motion to hold the district in contempt, which the judge denied, but instead ordered the district to allow West and Mirabelli back into the classroom.
The Escondido Union School District did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Fox News’ Jon Brown and Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.
California
California GOP delegates on LGBT issues, LA decline, Medicaid fraud | Fox News Video
California GOP delegates Roxanne Hoge and Elizabeth Barcohana join Trace Gallagher to discuss multiple issues impacting California.
California GOP delegates Roxanne Hoge and Elizabeth Barcohana dissect the state’s pressing issues with Trace Gallagher. They criticize the SF Giants’ ‘Pride Night’ controversy and players’ right to religious expression. The delegates also discuss Los Angeles’s economic decline and Sacramento’s expensive homeless campsite, highlighting concerns about over-regulation and social issues. They conclude by addressing California’s large-scale Medicaid fraud, suggesting a lack of accountability.
California
California Central Valley city’s first-ever Pride event moves indoors after pushback
Oakdale’s first Pride event is moving forward this weekend after organizers changed venues following pushback over its original location and a planned drag performance.
Some residents pushed back over the event’s original location at Dorada Park and a planned drag performance.
“I also understand staff has issued a permit for a so-called Pride event,” one speaker said during the latest City Council meeting.
Another speaker raised concerns about the event being advertised as open to all ages, including children, and having a drag queen host.
After the public pushback, organizers moved the event indoors to the Bianchi Center.
“It was a huge upgrade to be able to provide a more accessible space in the heart of Oakdale,” said Ryan Hall, president of CalPride.
Hall said the idea to bring Pride to the city did not come from outside Oakdale, it came from people living there.
“That’s my place as a mom of rainbow kids, absolutely,” said Elizabeth May, owner of Sisters Coffee.
May’s coffee shop hosts a monthly LGBTQ+ social.
“I had a young man walk in here and say, ‘We don’t have anywhere to have a social here for LGBTQ.’ I said, ‘Heck yes,’” May said.
Still, the backlash has left parents like May concerned.
“How does it feel? Scary. I’m excited, but as a mom of a kid in the community, I’m nervous for them,” May said.
May said the venue change helped ease some of the tension.
“The different venue made a win-win situation for everyone. I was very proud of the kids for making that hard decision,” May said.
For organizers, the drag performance is part of the celebration.
“Enjoy some line dancing, enjoy some live music, enjoy the drag show, and then also enjoy community members and our local businesses, our local artists and partner organizations,” Hall said.
Oakdale Pride is scheduled for Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Entry is free.
California
Newsom urges a national ‘billionaires’ tax’ while fighting one in California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a run for president as he approaches the end of his term, called for a national “billionaires’ tax” on Friday even as he fights another proposal targeting the wealthy in his home state.
Newsom also said the U.S. government should own a stake in artificial intelligence companies. His proposals, outlined in a Substack post, aligns him with the Democratic Party’s populist left, and he argued that urgent changes are needed to prevent the elite concentration of wealth and power from undermining democracy.
“It’s time for an economic reset for America,” Newsom wrote.
The governor announced his agenda a day after an influential health care union in California pledged to go forward with a ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of billionaires living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Newsom opposes that measure, as do many of the liberal interest groups that typically favor higher taxes. They fear it would drive billionaires out of California, eroding the state’s tax base over the long term for a one-time influx of cash. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other state — a few hundred, by some estimates.
“You may not be able to pick up and move to Texas or Florida to shelter your income from taxation, but I promise you that billionaires can, and do,” Newsom wrote. “Wealth is movable, and it shops for the state with the lowest taxes. The fight belongs at the federal level, where this broken system was created in the first place.”
A minimum tax on large net worths
Newsom said the solution is a new national tax policy, rather than a state-by-state system. He proposed a minimum tax on anyone with a net worth above $100 million. He also wants to make it illegal for the wealthy to borrow against their stock portfolios to fund their luxury lifestyles tax free.
Newsom said there should be new rules for inheritance taxes, warning that “the transfer of wealth among the ultra-wealthy will lock in a permanent American aristocracy of inherited wealth.” And he wants to raise corporate tax rates to where they were before President Donald Trump’s first-term tax cut.
READ MORE: Sanders and Newsom clash over proposed tax on California’s billionaires
The need is especially urgent as artificial intelligence threatens to displace workers and further concentrate wealth, he wrote.
“We need to ensure every American owns a stake in the future being built by AI through a national public equity fund that takes a major stake in the new economy,” he wrote. “Simply, as artificial intelligence reshapes the country, every American should own a piece of the future it builds.”
Revenue generated by his proposals could be used to retrain workers, fund universal child care, make college free and increase funding for health care.
‘Money buys influence’
Newsom, who has drawn attention as one of Trump’s most high-profile political antagonists, is getting an early start on laying out a policy framework for his potential White House bid months before the midterm elections, which have typically marked the informal start of overt presidential campaigning.
WATCH: News Wrap: Newsom says Trump ordering DOJ to investigate him and wife
The embrace of a wealth tax by Newsom, a moderate on tax policy despite his liberal reputation, signals a notable shift in the political landscape since Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren struggled to get traction in her 2020 campaign, which she largely centered around a 2% levy wealth tax.
Newsom portrayed the nation’s tax code as a corrupt system built to help an elite few.
“Money buys influence, and influence rewrites the rules,” he wrote. “Those rewritten rules funnel even more wealth to the few. Under this weight, democracy itself starts to buckle.”
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