A federal appeals court has upheld a Massachusetts school district’s policy allowing students to change their name and pronouns at school without mandatory parental notification, ruling that it does not infringe on parental rights.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston dismissed a lawsuit from two parents who claimed their child, a middle school student in Ludlow, Massachusetts, was encouraged to adopt a different gender identity without their knowledge. The parents argued that the school’s policy violated their constitutional right to oversee their child’s upbringing.
The court disagreed, stating that while parents do have fundamental rights in raising their children, those rights are not absolute when it comes to school policies. The judges cited Supreme Court precedent emphasizing that educational institutions have discretion in administrative decisions affecting students.
The ruling aligns with legal trends across the country, where courts are weighing the balance between parental rights and policies designed to protect LGBTQ students. The decision could potentially be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
