THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Public School Gender Policies That Exclude Parents Are Unconstitutional

Parents’ constitutional right to direct the upbringing and education of their children is the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests ever recognized by the Supreme Court. But a rapidly growing number of school districts across the country, already more than 1,000, have policies denying parents even the knowledge that their children may have expressed a desire to change their gender identity and any say in how school personnel respond. The nature of this problem, the surge in transgender-identifying youth, and the well-established rights of parents call for more, not less. Parents must act now to force school districts to change these transition policies, urge state legislatures to prohibit them, and, if necessary, defend their rights in court.