Did you know that schools in Maryland recently sought to expose elementary school children to LGBTQ storybooks over parents’ objections?
Did you know that schools in California recently prohibited teachers from disclosing to parents their children’s gender transition at school?
These efforts to suppress parental rights demonstrate the unrelenting attack on families in our nation. Thankfully, the United States Supreme Court has restored ordered liberty in these two cases: the Maryland case and the California case, with a sweeping course correction for families in public schools.
In the first case, Maryland parents objected to schools introducing their children to gender and sexuality material notwithstanding parents’ objections. The Supreme Court, relying on long-standing historical precedent, declared that the school’s agenda substantially interfered with the right of parents to “guide the religious development of their children.”1 Such historical precedent affirms that parents, and not the government or schools, have the primary authority for the education of children.2 Moreover, the Supreme Court clarified that public schools cannot restrict this constitutional right to the home only; rather, it extends to life outside the home. As a result, the Court explained that the government cannot force families of faith out of public schools by imposing content that undermines their religious beliefs.
In the second case, several Christian teachers who refused to mislead California parents about gender transition of children at school took a stand to protect their right to speak the truth. Parents then joined the case alongside the teachers. Sadly, two parents only learned of the school’s secrecy policies after their daughter attempted suicide. In response, the Supreme Court declared that “the intrusion on parents’ free exercise rights here – unconsented facilitation of a child’s gender transition – is greater than the introduction of LGBTQ storybooks” at issue in the previous case.3 As the Court explained, the school’s policies “cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents.” Importantly, as Justice Barrett wrote in her concurring opinion, such parental rights, derived from the people’s right of self-governance, represent rights “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition . . . implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.”4
These Supreme Court decisions represent a welcome course correction for our public schools. These decisions also emphasize the importance of transparency and respect for parents’ rights in public schools. In addition, these decisions highlight the important role of Christian public school educators as frontline missionaries who can stand with parents in protecting children from ideologies contrary to the knowledge of God.