Summary of facts: The “Gender Identity Guidelines” of the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Education give staff and students total control over sensitive decisions about a child’s “gender identity” and pronouns at the exclusion of parents, even allowing children to “transition” at school without their parents’ knowledge or consent. A group of parents filed a lawsuit, and a federal trial court held that the policy does not violate parents’ constitutional right to raise their children. The parents appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which affirmed the dismissal of their lawsuit on the ground that they lacked “standing,” that is, that they had not shown the level of harm necessary to bring a claim in federal court. The parents appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

RFI’s position: The Court should hear this case and hold that the parents in this case have standing because the school district’s policies and practices threaten their fundamental right to impart their sincere religious beliefs without government interference. Moreover, the policy substantially burdens the sincerely held religious beliefs of many different faith groups, including Orthodox Jews, Hindus, and Muslims and will disproportionately impact families from minority faith backgrounds.

Read the amicus brief here.