California Governor Gavin Newsom suffered another legal and political setback this week as parental rights advocates celebrated a victory that many see as part of a broader struggle over who should ultimately direct the upbringing of children: parents or the state.
The Ninth Circuit has confirmed that parents’ rights still exist in California —despite Gavin Newsom’s effort to stamp them out.
Last week, the appellate court — still known as the most liberal in the land — blocked the enforcement of AB 1955, the 2024 law that prevents schools from informing parents when children tell schools that they want to change genders.
Newsom signed AB 1955 into law. But he could not defend his opposition to parents’ rights. In fact, when asked why parents didn’t have the right to know about their own children, he tried to deflect the question, saying it wasn’t a major issue for voters anyway.
Originally, the Ninth Circuit found that the city lacked standing to sue. But in light of the Supreme Court ruling, the Ninth Circuit changed its mind, and ruled last week that Huntington Beach has standing and is likely to win the case. It therefore blocked Newsom’s law.
It is a relief to know that parents’ rights, and common sense, have prevailed. Parents have to sign permission slips for field trips to the museum; certainly, they have a right to know if their children are being counseled to change their gender, through drugs or eventual surgery.
The controversy centers around a growing debate that has swept across the nation in recent years regarding parental notification policies, gender identity issues, and the role schools should play in matters traditionally reserved for families.
For many conservatives and Christians, the latest developments represent more than just another policy dispute. They see it as a reaffirmation of a biblical principle that predates both modern politics and public education: God entrusted children first to parents, not governments.
Growing Conflict Over Parental Rights
California has become ground zero for many cultural battles involving education and family issues. Governor Newsom has consistently aligned himself with progressive policies concerning gender identity and parental notification requirements.
Critics argue those policies undermine parental authority by limiting what schools are required to disclose to mothers and fathers regarding their children.
Supporters of parental rights, meanwhile, contend that parents have a God-given responsibility to know what is happening in their children’s lives and to guide them according to their convictions.
Recent legal and political victories by parents’ groups have demonstrated that resistance to these policies continues to grow, even in deeply blue states like California.
Many parents, regardless of political affiliation, are increasingly asking a simple question:
Who knows and loves children better—the state or their mothers and fathers?
The Bible Places Parents at the Center
Long before debates about school boards and governors, God established the family as the primary institution responsible for raising children.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says:
“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”
God’s design was never that the state would become the primary moral instructor of children.
That responsibility belongs to parents.
Fathers and mothers are commanded to disciple their children and train them in truth.
Ephesians 6:4 declares:
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Notice that responsibility is not assigned to Caesar.
It is given to parents.
The Family Was God’s Idea
From the beginning, God established the family before government.
Marriage came before kingdoms.
Parenthood came before political institutions.
Civil government has an important role in maintaining order and punishing evil, according to Romans 13, but government was never designed to replace fathers and mothers.
Christians have long understood that parental authority is delegated authority from God Himself.
This doesn’t mean parents are perfect.
Nor does it mean governments have no role in education.
But Scripture consistently places the primary responsibility for raising children upon families.
Proverbs 22:6 teaches:
“Train up a child according to his way, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Training requires involvement.
It requires knowledge.
And it requires authority.
Parents cannot faithfully fulfill that calling if critical information about their children is intentionally withheld from them.
A Growing Movement Across America
California is not alone.
Across the nation, parents have become increasingly active at school board meetings and in state legislatures.
Issues involving curriculum, biological sex, parental notification, and educational transparency have motivated many families who previously paid little attention to politics.
The debate has transcended party lines.
Many parents who do not consider themselves politically conservative nevertheless believe they should have the right to direct their children’s upbringing and receive information from schools regarding their well-being.
Those concerns have fueled a broader parental rights movement that continues to gain momentum.
Christians Should Pray and Engage
Followers of Christ are called to engage cultural issues without fear and without hatred.
Political victories matter, but they are not ultimate.
Changing laws cannot change hearts.
Only the Gospel can do that.
Christians should pray for leaders, school officials, teachers, and families.
They should engage respectfully while standing firmly on biblical truth.
Most importantly, believers should remember that discipleship begins at home.
Churches cannot outsource it.
Schools cannot replace it.
And governments were never intended to assume it.
Psalm 127:3 reminds us:
“Behold, children are a gift of Yahweh, The fruit of the womb is a reward.”
Children are gifts entrusted to parents by God.
That truth remains unchanged regardless of elections, court rulings, or changing political winds.
A Reminder to Christian Parents
As a husband married for more than thirty-three years, I’ve become increasingly convinced that one of the greatest investments we can make is in our children and grandchildren.
Culture changes.
Governors come and go.
Court decisions rise and fall.
But the souls of our children matter forever.
The greatest responsibility Christian parents have is not raising successful children.
It is raising faithful children.
That means teaching Scripture.
Praying with them.
Modeling repentance.
Attending church together.
Having difficult conversations.
And pointing them continually to Jesus Christ.
Political victories are worth celebrating.
But lasting victories happen around dinner tables, family devotions, and faithful churches where parents embrace the calling God has given them.
Because ultimately, children belong to the Lord, and parents are stewards entrusted with raising them for His glory.