Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California, is a magnet high school with about 1,406 students, fairly small by California standards, and the school prides itself on a teacher to student ratio of 20-1. Sadly, Anaheim is one of the bluer portions of Orange County, so the woke has overtaken certain members of the school board and the administration. In 2013, Gavin Newsom signed into law AB1266, which allows anyone to use the bathroom that they feel connects to their gender identity. In terms of public schools, this is a clear violation of Title IX, yet the Esperanza administrators have allowed a male student who identifies as a female the use of the girl’s bathrooms on the school grounds.

One junior named Lesley Ledesma was not only uncomfortable with this, but on Tuesday, Ledesma organized a walkout in protest. 

Students at Esperanza High School, lead by junior Lesley Ledesma, staged a walkout this morning after administrators confirmed a trans-identified male student would be permitted to use the girls’ restroom. The students were joined by California Family Council Outreach Director Sophia Lorey, Chino Valley Unified School Board President and candidate for California State Superintendent Sonja Shaw Sonja Shaw, and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Trustee Leandra Blades.

The controversy erupted when junior Ledesma confronted a male student, who sometimes dresses as a girl or a boy, while he was entering the girls’ restroom. “When I asked, ‘why are you in this bathroom?’ I was told ‘I am trans, I identify as a girl,’” Ledesma explained at a press conference following the walkout. “I was immediately alarmed not because I wanted to disrespect anyone’s identity, but because I was suddenly uncertain about my own privacy and safety in a space I had always trusted.”

Ledesma, who has attended Esperanza since freshman year, said the incident stripped away the sense of safety she once felt at her school. “As a woman, this felt like a slap in the face to me,” she said. “As a young woman who has used the girls’ bathroom my entire life, I was now being asked to step aside. It didn’t feel fair. It didn’t feel respectful. It felt like my concerns, and the concerns of other girls, were being overlooked.”

Before students began to speak out at the press conference about the issue of males using the girls restroom, they joined in prayer.

Powerful watching the students unite in prayer.

A generation rising, grounded in faith, united in courage, ready to defend truth. pic.twitter.com/ewUy31vYSm

— Sophia Lorey (@SophiaSLorey) October 1, 2025

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Here’s why I love this girl. Ledesma and her parents actually went to the school administration first with these concerns. In typical fashion, the administrators did the usual song-and-dance that their hands were tied because they didn’t want to limit anyone’s freedom of expression. Yet they have no problem compromising the safety of their female students. California has learned nothing from the slippery slope that is Virginia, where families are fighting a battle against sex offenders being allowed to invade female bathrooms and spaces, while elected officials and school boards make excuses and turn a blind eye.

Administrators told Ledesma and others that if they were uncomfortable sharing the restroom with a male student, they could use the nurse’s office instead.

Why are they disenfranchising a school full of women and girls, for one confused male with an identity crisis? Why can’t that one student be forced to use the nurse’s office only? It’s backwards logic, but such is the state of California’s policies. One Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District school board trustee is on the side of common sense, pointing out this endangerment of females and the school’s clear violation of Title IX.

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Trustee Leandra Blades said, “What this is about is the safety of our people. Our females do not feel safe in the bathrooms. Our females do not feel safe on the athletic field. They don’t feel safe. And so what is the state of California doing? They’re violating Title IX.” 

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Trans over girls is the policy Esperanza has chosen to embrace. Ledesma made the mature observation that the trade-off is someone else’s supposed dignity has been deemed greater than women’s safety. It’s not right, and it is a violation of the rights of all young women, as Ledesma affirmed.

“Everyone deserves dignity,” she said. “But dignity cannot come at the cost of someone else’s sense of safety. We must find a solution that protects the rights and feelings of all students, not just some.”

Well said. Ledesma is obviously a smart and brave young lady. But the beauty of this story is that not only did the young women step up, but the young men had their back. Mad props to Ledesma’s younger brother Eddie and her male cousins, who stood in solidarity with her and the other females at the school.

WATCH:

These kids represent that there is hope for Gen Z, and hope for California, as sane people stand up, demand to be heard, and precipitate change.

Ledesma made clear that her activism is not motivated by hostility but by concern for fairness and safety. “Let me be absolutely clear: I am not here to attack anyone. I do not wish harm on those who see things differently or anyone in the transgender community. I truly believe every person is created in the image and likeness of God and deserves love, dignity, and respect. But I also believe that females deserve to feel safe and comfortable in private spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms. Respect must go both ways.”

She concluded with a message to school officials and lawmakers: “We want the district to hear us and realize that our voices matter. Thank you for listening, and thank you for standing with me.”

Today in Anaheim, CA HS junior Lesley Ledesma planned a student led walk since there has been a MALE using the girls restroom.

The girls stood up.
The BOYS stood guard.

Together, they sent a powerful message: the girls are not alone, they will be protected. pic.twitter.com/OlfB473rFA

— Sophia Lorey (@SophiaSLorey) October 1, 2025

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