Parental Rights
The Department of Education has publicly expressed its dim view of parents’ rights. On May 19, 2023, DOE Secy. Miguel Cardona made this claim: “Teachers know what is best for their kids because they are with them every day.”
If the Department of Education succeeds in expanding the definition of sex to include “gender identity,” parents will lose their rights to restrict the exposure of young children to curricula on sexual orientation, gender identity, and age-inappropriate discussions of sexual practices.
Worse, children could be gender “transitioned” and assigned a new name without their parents’ knowledge or consent. As of January 17, 2024, 10.8 million students across the country were attending schools with policies stating personnel can or should keep a student’s transgender status hidden from parents.
LEGISLATION
- Laws enacted in 18 states: AL, AZ, CO, FL, GA, ID, IA, KS, MI, MT, NV, NC, ND, OK, TX, UT, VA, WV, and WY.
- Model Legislation:
- Public Law 90-247: Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment
- American Legislative Exchange Council: Fundamental Parental Rights Statute
- Center for Arizona Policy: Parents’ Bill of Rights
- Proposed Bills:
- Heritage Foundation: Legislation Tracker
- Parental Rights Amendment to the Constitution
- Bills Seeking to Ban Drag Shows in Schools
LAWSUITS
- Wisconsin: Judge Michael Maxwell ruled, “This Court has before it what modern society deems a controversial issue – transgenderism involving minors within our schools… However, this particular case is not about that broad controversial issue. This particular case is simply whether a school district can supplant a parent’s right to control the healthcare and medical decisions for their children. The well-established case law in that regard is clear – Kettle Moraine cannot.”
- California: Judge Roger Benitez ruled that the parental secrecy policy at Escondido Union School District represented a “trifecta of harm:” The policy “harms the child who needs parental guidance and possibly mental health intervention to determine if the incongruence is organic or whether it is the result of bullying, peer pressure, or a fleeting impulse. It harms the parents by depriving them of the long recognized Fourteenth Amendment right to care, guide, and make health care decisions for their children. And finally, it harms plaintiffs [school teachers] who are compelled to violate the parent’s rights by forcing plaintiffs to conceal information they feel is critical for the welfare of their students — violating plaintiffs’ religious beliefs.”
OTHER TITLE IX PROBLEM AREAS
Return to the Stop the Gender Agenda page.