Are California Schools Pushing Too Far?

Public education in America has always been a cornerstone of civic life. But in recent years, especially in liberal states like California, a growing number of parents are raising serious concerns about what their children are learning in school. And it’s not about math or reading scores. It’s about ideology. More specifically, about how radical ideas on sexuality, identity, and gender are replacing traditional academics and alienating families across the political spectrum.

Even liberal parents, once the strongest supporters of public education in the state, are beginning to say: enough.

What’s Happening in California Classrooms

California is often the testing ground for progressive education policies. In many districts, lessons now include detailed discussions about sexual orientation, gender identity, and “lived experience” starting as early as kindergarten. What used to be part of high school health class is now appearing in elementary school storytime.

Some of the books in school libraries feature explicit illustrations and graphic sexual content. Others promote ideas that challenge the most basic understanding of biology, such as the belief that gender is purely a social construct and entirely separate from sex. In some classrooms, teachers lead conversations that encourage children to explore complex questions about their identity before they have even mastered basic reading comprehension.

These policies are not just fringe experiments. They are written into state education standards and widely implemented. School districts in places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland have adopted curricula that promote “gender expansiveness,” celebrate “queer joy,” and instruct students in using gender-neutral pronouns. Teachers are trained to affirm students’ gender transitions, sometimes without notifying parents.

Parents Locked Out

One of the most alarming developments is how these changes are happening with little or no input from families. In some cases, school staff are actively discouraged from informing parents if a child begins identifying as a different gender at school. Policies in California protect student privacy, which in practice means children can change their name and pronouns without a parent’s knowledge.

This breakdown in transparency is driving a wedge between schools and families. Many parents feel deliberately shut out of the conversation. They are not trying to discriminate. They are trying to understand why their children are being introduced to sensitive topics without their knowledge or consent.

It is no longer just conservative parents pushing back. Liberal families, who once supported progressive education reforms, are now questioning whether the system has gone too far. Parents who believe in equality and acceptance are still asking a very basic question: Why is sexual identity becoming the centerpiece of elementary education?

More Ideology, Less Academics

This shift has not come without consequences. As schools devote more time and resources to identity-focused education, basic academics are suffering. California ranks near the bottom nationally in reading and math proficiency. Yet instead of focusing on raising academic achievement, many districts are pouring energy into expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, rewriting curriculum frameworks to reflect activist goals, and pushing political messages into the classroom.

The result is a kind of mission drift. Schools were never meant to replace parents as moral or emotional guides. Their role was to provide knowledge and skills. Today, that mission is being overtaken by social agendas that not all families agree with—and that many children are too young to process.

When Inclusion Becomes Indoctrination

There is a difference between teaching kids to be kind and teaching them to adopt a belief system. Parents want their children to grow up respecting others, but they also want their right to shape their child’s worldview to be respected in return. The line between inclusion and indoctrination is getting harder to ignore.

In California, where progressive values dominate, many feel pressured to stay silent. Teachers who disagree with the new orthodoxy risk professional backlash. Parents who speak up are sometimes labeled intolerant or even dangerous. But silence is starting to break. School board meetings are becoming battlegrounds. Lawsuits are being filed. Grassroots parent groups are forming across ideological lines.

This is not a left-versus-right issue anymore. It is a parent-versus-system issue.

A Call for Balance

The reality is simple: no one wants to see children mistreated or excluded. But the push for radical openness in schools has gone well beyond inclusion. It is reshaping childhood around adult concepts and politicizing education in a way that many families do not want and never asked for.

California may be leading the charge, but the concerns are national. If public education is to survive as a place of trust, schools must remember their primary job. Teach facts. Teach skills. Leave moral guidance to families. And be honest about what is being taught.

Because when schools forget their role, they stop serving children and start serving agendas. And when that happens, parents, liberal, conservative, and everything in between, will fight to take back control.