(The Center Square) — A California federal judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring parental notification and opt-outs for gender identity topics in an elementary school’s buddy program pairing older elementary students with younger mentees, citing concerns from the program’s controversial lesson in which fifth graders were enlisted to teach kindergarteners about gender identity. 

At issue is a specific buddy session, in which teachers selected and read the gender identity book “My Shadow Is Pink,” which the ruling says is “about a boy who liked to wear dresses and play with toys associated with girls.” The session took place at an elementary school in the Encinitas Union School District.