I much enjoyed this conversation with Kayla Ann Toney (First Liberty Institute), who was the prevailing lawyer in S.E. v. Grey:
Encinitas Unified School District required two fifth-grade boys and their assigned kindergarten buddies to read and watch My Shadow is Pink and do an activity, pressuring the kindergartners to choose a color to represent their own shadows. The plaintiffs allege this was designed to make the students question their gender identity. Represented by First Liberty Institute and the National Center for Law and Policy, the families filed a complaint in the Southern District of California and sought a motion for preliminary injunction. On May 12, 2025, Judge M. James Lorenz granted that motion in part, requiring the school district to provide advance notice and opt-outs when gender identity material is taught in mentoring programs. The judge's opinion focused on compelled speech, finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of that claim. Free speech expert Professor Eugene Volokh and counsel Kayla Toney, who represents the families, broke down the opinion and discussed its ramifications for First Amendment jurisprudence.
