Attorneys general petition SCOTUS to weigh in on parental rights

(The Center Square) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief Monday with attorneys general from 15 other states asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case about schools socially transitioning students without parents’ knowledge or consent.

“It is essential that schools work with parents, not against them, to support a child’s well-being,” Miyares said in a statement. “Parents have the right to be involved in major decisions affecting their children’s lives.”

The case hails from Wisconsin in 2022, where a school district – like many others nationwide – determined it would support students who wanted to change their gender identity at school. The district adopted policies facilitating student-led social transition, giving students the authority to choose names, pronouns, locker rooms and bathrooms reflective of their stated gender identity and to determine whether their parents were notified of the changes. It also called upon administrators to develop “Student Gender Support Plan(s),” which could include information on students’ medical and surgical transition.

Some district parents decided to fight the policy, filing a complaint in court and arguing that the district was trampling on fundamental parental rights. However, the case has been dismissed at both the district and appellate courts, where judges ruled the parents “lacked standing to bring federal claims,” according to a press release from Miyares’ office.

Miyares and others disagree, citing a dissenting opinion on a similar gender identity case from Judge Paul Niemeyer of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Niemeyer believed school policy in that case undermined parents’ constitutional rights and inflicted constitutional injury upon them because the school’s policy was “systemic,” and the parents didn’t have the option of choosing another policy for their children.

“This case presents an opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to provide much-needed clarity and reaffirm that government officials cannot override parents’ fundamental rights simply because they believe they know better,” Miyares said.

Miyares is joined by the attorneys general of Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.