Summary of facts: Two sets of parents learned that their daughters’ school had policies encouraging secrecy between students and parents regarding students’ “gender identity.” The parents sued their school district for violating their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court dismissed the case, holding that the parents lacked standing because they pulled their children from the school after learning of the secrecy policies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the dismissal. The parents are now asking the Supreme Court to hear their case. 

RFI’s position: No parents should have their children indoctrinated in school. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court held that the rights of religious parents are violated when schools condition public education on a parents’ “willingness to surrender” their religious views. The fundamental right to raise one’s children consistent with one’s beliefs belongs to all parents. When schools seek to socially transition a child without affirmative consent from the child’s parents, they violate those parents’ rights. Compounding the injustice, in many instances, including here, the school actively seeks to conceal from parents that their rights are being violated. Schools around the country in recent years have sought to replace parents’ judgment about what is best for their children. This Court should grant review in this case and affirm the right of all parents to raise their children according to their own values.

Read the brief here.