The Eau Claire Area School District in Wisconsin is facing a legal challenge from a group of parents over its gender-identity policy, which they argue infringes upon their parental rights.
The case, Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District, is being brought before the U.S. Supreme Court by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) and America First Legal, and is set to test the boundaries of public education authority.
The lawsuit, initially filed in federal district court in 2022, accuses the public school system of implementing a policy that facilitates gender identity transitions at school while keeping parents who might oppose such transitions in the dark. The district court and the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals have both dismissed the case.
Magistrate Judge Steven Crocker, in the appellate court ruling, acknowledged that the parents had "genuine concerns" about the school district's policy. However, he noted that none of the parents had suffered any harm due to the policy. He wrote, "But nowhere does the complaint allege that even one of the associations members any particular parent has experienced an actual or imminent injury attributable to the Administrative Guidance or a Support Plan.
WILL, however, argues in its appeal to the Supreme Court that the parents are directly affected by the pro-transgender policy. The policy's secrecy could potentially keep parents uninformed about a matter of significant parental concern. The court filing also asserts that similar school policies are eroding parental rights nationwide.
Luke Berg, deputy counsel for the Milwaukee-based conservative public interest law firm, said, Thousands of school districts across our country have these policies. If parents cannot challenge them until after their children are harmed, they have no way to protect their kids other than pulling them from public school.
The parents, all of whom have children enrolled in the Eau Claire school district, are challenging the district and its staff's decision-making authority over their children, particularly when such decisions are kept secret from them. The appeal to the Supreme Court poses a critical legal question: When a school district adopts an explicit policy to usurp parental decision-making authority over a major health-related decision and to conceal this from the parents do parents who are subject to such a policy have standing to challenge it?
WILL contends that this case, and others like it, represent "one of the most significant failures of the federal judicial system in our lifetime." The court filing states that over 1,000 school districts, covering nearly 11 million students, have adopted policies that facilitate minor students changing their gender identity at school in secret from their parents. The Eau Claire School District's policy, like many others, prohibits teachers from discussing with parents what is happening with their own child at school and even requires staff to actively hide things from parents.
The petition argues, School is now like Las Vegas: What happens at school stays at school.' It urges the Supreme Court to consider the national implications of these policies, which have already generated over two dozen lawsuits, with many more expected.
According to the Eau Claire public school systems Administrative Guidance for Gender Identity Support, updated in late 2021, the district aims to foster inclusive and welcoming environments free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The guidance document requires educators and staff to inquire about a student's preferred terms, bathroom and locker room preferences, sex-specific athletic team preference, and comfort level with various transition plans.
The policy states, Some transgender, non-binary, and/or gender-nonconforming students are not open at home for reasons that may include safety concerns or lack of acceptance. School personnel should speak with the student first before discussing a students gender nonconformity or transgender status with the students parent/guardian.
Eau Claire North High School drew national attention in 2022 when a staff member reportedly posted a sign on the schools door stating, If Your Parents Arent Accepting Of Your Identity Im Your Mom Now.
Newsweek reported that Eau Claire teachers had been required to attend an equity professional development day addressing Safe Spaces the month before. The event included a slide instructing teachers that parents are not entitled to know their kids identities. That knowledge must be earned.
Tim Nordin, Eau Claire Area School District Board President, told Wisconsin Public Radio in March that the district policy has remained unchanged since the lawsuit was first filed. He said, We remain convinced that not only is this supportive for students and for families, but that its fully within the rights of the students and families. Were going to continue to support them as best we can.
However, WILL and America First Legal argue in the petition before the Supreme Court that parents have primary rights in the lives of their children that extend to the classroom. The petition notes the court has repeatedly recognized parents have a fundamental constitutional right to make decisions concerning the rearing of [their] own [children].
The petition argues, As any parent knows, parental authority includes the right (and the solemn responsibility) to say no to childrens often short-sighted desires when necessary to protect them from themselves. It notes that even the Biden administrations recent identity politics-driven Title IX rule eschews the kind of policies Eau Claire schools have emphasized. The federal rule says that nothing in the final regulations disturbs parental rights, and that When a parent and minor student disagree about the name or pronouns used at school, for example deference to the judgment of a parent is appropriate.
WILL has been at the forefront of the parental rights battle, having been engaged in a lengthy court fight over the Madison Metropolitan School Districts gender identity policy. The case went to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where it was ultimately dismissed because the mother who was the plaintiff in the case decided not to send her child to a Madison district school. Thus, she lost standing in the lawsuit. The dismissal had nothing to do with the merits of the case.
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