(The Center Square) – The Encinitas Union School District withdrew its appeal of a ruling in a gender ideology lawsuit.

Instead, the San Diego County district will comply with a lower federal court decision and notify parents and provide opt-outs for parents in gender ideology lessons and programs, according to district officials and lawyers representing the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleges that the school district violated parents’ and students’ First Amendment rights by compelling students’ speech. A copy of the initial complaint said the district violated parents’ First Amendment right to bring up their children in a religious manner, failed to provide notice to parents about objectionable material in school, and violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

A decision issued by the court in May 2025 requires the school district to notify parents and provide opt-outs for families to excuse their children from any lesson or activity that covers gender identity in the school district’s buddy program.

“We’re very glad to see that this district has seen the writing on the wall,” Kayla Toney, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the case, told The Center Square.