The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for California schools to notify parents if their children want to change their gender identity without approval from the student amid a challenge against the Golden State’s ban on so-called forced outing of transgender students.

The court granted an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group, the Thomas More Society, blocking, at least for now, a state law that prohibited automatic parental notification requirements if students change their gender expression or pronouns at school.

The Thomas More Society praised the decision as «the most significant parental rights ruling in a generation.» Two sets of Catholic parents represented by the legal group argued that the state law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2024, caused schools to mislead them and secretly facilitate the students’ gender transitions.

But California contended that students have the right to privacy about their gender expression, particularly if they fear rejection from their families who may not support their decision to adopt a new gender identity. The state also said school policies and state law sought to balance student privacy with parental rights.

Last year, state education officials told school districts that the state’s policy «does not mandate nondisclosure.» Newsom’s office also previously said that «parents continue to have full, guaranteed access to their student’s education records as required by federal law.»

The Supreme Court sided with the parents on Monday and reinstated a lower-court order blocking the law and school policies while the case continues.

«The parents who assert a free exercise claim have sincere religious beliefs about sex and gender, and they feel a religious obligation to raise their children in accordance with those beliefs. California’s policies violate those beliefs,» the majority wrote in an unsigned order, adding that state policies also burden the free exercise of religion.

The Thomas More Society praised the decision as «the most significant parental rights ruling in a generation.» (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas also said they would have gone a step further and granted the teachers’ appeal to lift restrictions for them. The three liberal justices dissented, saying the case is still working its way through lower courts and there was no need to take action now.

«If nothing else, this Court owes it to a sovereign State to avoid throwing over its policies in a slapdash way, if the Court can provide normal procedures. And throwing over a State’s policy is what the Court does today,» Justice Elena Kagan wrote.

A federal judge ruled in December 2025 that schools cannot prevent teachers from sharing information about a student’s gender identity with their parents, but an appeals court blocked that ruling last month, leading the plaintiffs to ask the nation’s highest court to step in.

TRUMP ADMIN FINDS CALIFORNIA BAN ON NOTIFYING PARENTS OF GENDER TRANSITIONS VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW

The Supreme Court sided with the parents and reinstated a lower-court order blocking the law and school policies while the case continues. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

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The high court has been weighing whether to hear arguments in cases out of other states such as Massachusetts and Florida filed by parents who say schools facilitated gender transitions without notifying them.

The U.S. Department of Education also announced last month that the California law violates federal law. The findings of the federal investigation could put at risk the nearly $8 billion in education funding the federal government gives the state each year if state officials do not work with the Trump administration to resolve the violations.

The Trump administration is also pursuing legal action against California and threatening to withhold funding over a policy allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Iranian drone strikes forced Qatar to halt liquefied natural gas (LNG) production Monday, jolting global energy markets and raising fears about supply disruptions as Tehran increased its attacks on regional infrastructure.

QatarEnergy, the state-owned giant and one of the world’s largest LNG producers, suspended operations at two facilities after drones launched from Iran hit the sites, according to reports.

Qatar’s Ministry of Defense also said in a statement, that two drones hit facilities in the country, though no casualties were reported.

The attacks also targeted a water tank at a power plant in Mesaieed and a key energy installation in Ras Laffan.

Qatar’s Ras Laffan complex is the world’s largest LNG export facility, making it one of the most critical energy hubs in the world.

About 20% of global LNG trade transited the Strait of Hormuz in 2024, primarily from Qatar, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Markets reacted Monday with Europe’s benchmark natural gas futures surging by the largest margin since the 2022 energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine war, Bloomberg reported.

GULF SHIPPING OPERATIONS GRIND TO HALT NEAR IRAN, US QUIETLY PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE STRIKE: ‘HEIGHTENED RISK’

People gather as smoke rises at the Industrial Area after reported Iranian missile attacks, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, in Doha, Qatar, March 1, 2026.  (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)

Bloomberg also reported Dutch TTF natural gas prices rose by 50% after news of the shutdown. Asian LNG prices also recorded gains as traders tried to assess the scale and length of the disruption.

«The threat to security of supply is here and now,» Simone Tagliapietra, an analyst at Bruegel, told Bloomberg. «The extent of it will depend on the duration of the shutdown, but we are now into a new scenario.»

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In Saudi Arabia, another drone attack caused a fire at the kingdom’s Ras Tanura oil refinery, forcing a partial shutdown there as well.

Saudi authorities have not reported casualties, but the attack heightened fears of broader instability in the Gulf’s energy corridor, according to reports.

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Durante la madrugada del cuarto día de guerra del conflicto entre Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán, Arabia Saudita confirmó que la embajada de Estados Unidos en Riad fue atacada por drones, tras lo cual Washington pidió a sus ciudadanos abandonar de inmediato 14 países y territorios de Oriente Medio.

El presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, declaró que “pronto” se conocerá la represalia por el ataque contra la sede diplomática.

En la noche del lunes, se registraron bombardeos cruzados entre el Ejército israelí y el régimen de irán, ataques de Teherán contra países aliados de Estados Unidos y una nueva ofensiva israelí sobre Beirut, capital de Líbano, con el objetivo de alcanzar estructuras clave del grupo chií Hezbollah.

Por su parte, las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (FDI) anunciaron la madrugada de este martes una nueva oleada de ataques contra Beirut, dirigida a cuarteles y depósitos de armas del grupo terrorista.

Un general de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica en Irán advirtió que no permitirán el paso de “ni una gota de petróleo” por el estrecho de Ormuz y que prenderán fuego a cualquier barco que intente cruzar por esa vía estratégica.

Desde Estados Unidos, el secretario de Estado estadounidense, Marco Rubio, aseguró que “los golpes más duros” del Pentágono contra Irán “aún están por venir” y que la siguiente fase de ataques que prepara Washington “será aún más severa”.

A continuación, la cobertura minuto a minuto: