(Alaska Watchman)—In a move that could have impacted a number of Alaska school districts, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a petition on Dec. 9 to hear Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District, a case aimed at resolving the growing national conflict between parental rights and controversial LGBTQ school policies that leave parents in the dark about how schools classify and affirm their minor child’s gender-identity.
The majority of the high court ruled that the parents bringing the case lacked standing because they could not yet show that a Wisconsin school district’s gender policy had actually hidden information about a child from parents. A dissenting opinion by Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, however, emphasized the pressing need for courts to address this important conflict. Justice Kavanaugh separately said that he, too, would have granted the parents’ petition and heard the case.
At issue is a Wisconsin school district’s gender identity practice of banning parents and guardians from knowing how a school addresses their child’s gender identity, unless the parent first demonstrates that they are trustworthy.
“There are many other ongoing cases involving parents’ rights and notification policies, and I am optimistic that the Court will take up one or several of these crucial cases in the coming months,” Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Emily Rae said.
On July 8, the Liberty Justice Center and clinical psychologist Dr. Erica Anderson jointly filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the case. The brief argued that school administrators are using gender policies to violate parents’ constitutional right to direct their children’s upbringing.
Similar policies are in place in school districts across Alaska, both in Anchorage and many rural areas. The national watchdog group, Parents Defending Education, has compiled a list of problematic school districts, including roughly a dozen in Alaska.
In dissenting from the majority, Justices Alito and Thomas said the case “presents a question of great and growing national concern” – namely, whether a school district “violates parents’ fundamental constitutional right to make decisions concerning the rearing of their children” when “it encourages a student to transition to a new gender or assists in that process” without parents’ knowledge or consent. The Justices pointed to more than 1,000 school districts across the country that have adopted such policies.
The dissenting opinion also expressed “concern” that courts are using standing as a way of “avoiding” the issue of parental rights – particularly because the school district’s policy would effectively prevent parents from even being able to prove standing until after the school had already violated their rights.
Following the Court’s announcement, Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Emily Rae expressed her disappointment.
“There are many other ongoing cases involving parents’ rights and notification policies, and I am optimistic that the Court will take up one or several of these crucial cases in the coming months,” she said.
Liberty Justice Center fights for parents’ rights – at no cost to them or taxpayers – by challenging state and federal laws that infringe on families’ fundamental rights.