SAN DIEGO -- The California Supreme Court Monday upheld part of Jessica’s Law, which prohibits registered sex offenders from living near schools and parks. However, the high court sent questions about the constitutionality of the law to the lower courts to figure out.

The case involves four plaintiffs, two from San Diego. J.S. is a registered sex offender because he was convicted of urinating under a railroad trestle in 1985 in Texas. K.T. raped an adult 20 years ago.

J.S. and K.T. are on parole and said they’ll end up homeless under Jessica’s Law, which states that registered sex offenders “shall not reside within 2,000 feet of any public or private school or park.

Their attorney is Ernest Galvan of San Francisco, who stated, “Laws like this, that force people into homelessness, actually make us less safe, are harmful to our children, not helpful.”

On Monday, in a 54-page ruling, the court upheld part of Jessica’s Law, stating that it applies to parolees even if their sex crime happened long before Jessica’s Law was passed in 2006.

State Sen. George Runner of Antelope Valley authored the law and said, “I think the courts stood up for what the voters asked for.”

But the court left one major issue undecided: whether the residency restrictions of Jessica’s Law violate constitutional protections regarding property and interstate travel. That issue is going back to the lower courts to be figured out on a case-by-case basis for the four petitioners.

For many law enforcement agencies, the law remains in limbo.

Mack Jenkins, Chief Probation Officer for San Diego County, said that the lack of clarity in Jessica’s Law and the legal challenges have prevented his department from enforcing the residency restrictions for 490 registered sex offenders on probation.

“Our department hasn’t been enforcing that specific restriction to date, “he said.

His probation department is not the exception, but the norm in San Diego County. Currently, Jessica’s Law is only enforced by the California Department of Corrections, and only for those who are on parole -- only 10 percent of local sex offenders.

As 10News previously reported, 70 percent of local sex offenders live close to schools or parks.

Asked if Jessica’s Law provides any real protection for families, Phyllis Shess, Director of Sex Offender Management in San Diego County pointed out, “They shouldn’t look at Jessica’s Law to protect children from sex offenders any more than they look at theft laws to keep their home from being burglarized.”

Shess said that it’s up to families to be vigilant and keep their children safe from sex offenders known or unknown, even after the courts sorts out the current problems with Jessica’s Law.