In a conservative win, campus members of an education advocacy organization may refer to transgender people using names and pronouns that are not consistent with that individual’s gender identity, according to a federal court ruling that restricts University of California anti-harassment policies.
The ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Fred W. Slaughter of California’s Central District does not fully invalidate UC’s wide-ranging anti-harassment policy, which covers misgendering, sexual abuse and stalking among campus community members. Misgendering means using incorrect pronouns or other gendered language for someone, intentionally or unintentionally.
The preliminary injunction — a temporary ruling while the case against UC proceeds — only protects members of the conservative group Defending Education. The group offers membership to anyone for free. It is unclear how many members the group has on UC campuses.
Slaughter said he found Defending Education likely to succeed on its 1st Amendment challenge, writing that the UC policy “compels speech and is viewpoint-based.”
The ruling comes amid growing legal battles in the state and nationwide over transgender rights in schools and universities. The Trump administration has sought to reverse transgender-inclusive policies governing sports, bathroom access, gender-affirming healthcare and recognition of gender identity.
In California, a federal judge this month dismissed the administration’s challenge to school sports policies allowing transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their gender identity. On Tuesday, A San Bernardino County judge ruled schools can’t be forced to “out” students but must answer parents’ questions about their child’s gender identity.
In his Tuesday ruling, Slaughter barred UC from punishing Defending Education members for referring to someone “in a commonplace way” using pronouns or birth names consistent with their sex assigned at birth — but inconsistent with their gender identity.
The order does not specify when “commonplace” use of names or pronouns crosses into abusive harassment.
In a statement, Defending Education said the injunction “bars UC from enforcing that policy against our members at UC schools for referring to others using biologically accurate pronouns and names, in accordance with their sincere beliefs.”
UC can still enforce its policy against abusive harassment related to gender. To illustrate conduct UC can regulate, Slaughter cited the example of a bully calling a boy “little princess” or “baby girl.”
In a statement, UC spokesperson Rachel Zaentz said the policy is “designed to protect members of the university community from discrimination and harassment, not to regulate protected speech.” She added: “The university takes all reports of harassment seriously, including those involving gender identity, and applies the same legal standards to these reports as it does to all allegations of harassment.”
Zaentz said UC would continue to defend speech and civil rights.
“While we disagree with the court’s ruling, UC will always seek to foster a welcoming environment that protects both freedom of expression and the fundamental rights of all members of our community,” she said.
UC’s Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy covers students, faculty, staff and third parties such as visitors and contractors. The policy identifies “intentional and repeated” misgendering as conduct that may constitute harassment.
Nicole Neily, president of Defending Education, welcomed the judge’s order, saying it blocks a “coercive speech policy.”
“It is unconstitutional for public universities to compel student speech, and we will continue to defend this principle in California and other schools across the country as needed,” Neily said in a statement.
Defending Education, which sued UC in June 2026, is the sole plaintiff in the case. Four student members submitted declarations but are not individual plaintiffs. A UC Irvine student identified only as Student D said in a declaration quoted in the group’s court brief: “I am often in classes or small groups with people who identify as transgender and have to work hard to avoid pronouns or names in those situations.”
UC’s fall 2025 enrollment records list 0.3% of students as transgender men, 0.2% as transgender women and 1.7% as nonbinary, totaling about 2.2% of students. Those percentages add up to about 6,600 transgender or nonbinary students enrolled out of a total of 301,000. The figures come from admissions and registrar records.
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