Schools across the country frequently remind parents —and often must receive their written permission—about all sorts of things, from a trip to the park to taking a Tylenol.  ,
A field trip might brighten Johnny’s day and a Tylenol might lessen his headache, but they wo n’t fundamentally alter the way he views the world or the course of his life.  ,
Parents may not be able to participate in efforts to turn Johnny into Janie if female activists have their way.  ,  ,
1, 060 college districts in 38 states and the District of Columbia have proper procedures for treating individuals of any age who are in accordance with their “gender personality,” and for withholding that information from parents, according to the databases maintained by Parents Defending Education.  ,
Those towns include more than 18, 000 institutions attended by nearly 11 million individuals —and the list is growing rapidly.  ,  ,
A university in Wisconsin, for instance, began treating a 12- year- aged woman as a boy behind her parents ‘ backs. When the class refused to stop also over their complaints, her parents eventually discovered the truth and filed a lawsuit.  ,
Last October, a prosecutor blocked the school district’s plan.  ,
The court noted that” the School District could not prescribe medicine to a student without the consent of the student,” or that it could “require or permit a student to play sports without the consent of the student.”
The court concluded, therefore, that” the School District cannot change the pronoun of a student without parental consent without impinging on a fundamental liberty interest of the parents” . ,  ,
In the Escondido, California, Union School District, administrative personnel adopted a policy that a person’s “assertion of their female identity”, by itself, requires class personnel to “begin to address the scholar quickly, consistently with that gender identity. The student’s assertion is enough”.  ,
The list of “individuals who do not have a legitimate need for the information” included parents. Under the policy,” a student’s consent to reveal gender information is required, regardless of the age of the student” . , ( Emphasis added. )
Two teachers filed a lawsuit, alleging that telling their parents about this matter in fact violated their freedom of speech and religion. A federal judge concluded that the policy violated the right of parents, repeatedly recognized by the Supreme Court,” to direct the education, health, and upbringing, and to maintain the well- being of, their children” . ,
Similar lawsuits have been filed in states like Kansas, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The proliferation of these “gender identity” policies, and litigation challenging them, has only just begun.  ,
The centerpiece of these policies is taking a student’s “assertion of gender identity” at face value and treating it as conclusive.  ,
They do not, however, define what counts as such an assertion. Is it limited to a clear, bold declaration or a formal request to be identified by a particular name or pronoun? Young people are probably more knowledgeable than older people about issues like sex and gender. They might not be aware of what they are going through, let alone have much ability to talk to others about it.  ,
These are significant and sensitive issues that parents are both in the best position to address and have the right to do.  ,
These policies do not address curriculum or school administration. According to some courts, parents ‘ authority to control their children’s education does not extend that far. No, these policies are not about issues that directly affect parents. They impose on students and parents the gender ideology of the classroom, potentially causing forever-changing family dynamics.  ,
During the 2021- 22 school year, acting on nothing more than a seventh grader’s email to a school counselor, personnel at East Rockford Middle School in Kent County, Michigan, began treating her as a boy. They purposefully kept the girl’s parents informed of the situation, even modifying school records so that they could see it.  ,
They only learned this because someone who was cleaning those records forgot to delete the pronoun, and they sued.  ,
The idea that parents have the right to control the education, care, and upbringing of their children has philosophical and legal roots dating back centuries. In a 2000 decision, then- Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote for the Supreme Court that” the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children” is “perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court”.  ,
If that is to mean anything in the future, parents must take action now to force school districts to change such policies, to urge state legislatures to prohibit them, and, if necessary, to defend their rights in court.  ,
