Parental Rights Attacked Once More

end goal: erosion of parental rights

Current Case: Foote v. Ludlow School Committee

• Massachusetts parents (Stephen Foote & Marissa Silvestri) sued after their child was socially transitioned at school without their knowledge.
• They argue this violated constitutional parental rights to direct upbringing, education, and healthcare decisions.
• Lower courts dismissed the case, ruling that using preferred names/pronouns is not medical treatment and schools control curricular/administrative decisions.
• Parents petitioned the Supreme Court, citing urgency and widespread adoption of “secret transition policies” in over 1,000 districts.

🏛️ Historical Precedents on Parental Rights

• Meyer v. Nebraska (1923): Struck down ban on foreign language teaching; affirmed parental role in education.
• Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925): Invalidated Oregon law requiring public schooling; emphasized parents’ liberty to direct education.
• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972): Allowed Amish parents to withdraw children from school for religious reasons.
• Troxel v. Granville (2000): Limited state interference in parental custody/visitation decisions.
• Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025): Court upheld parents’ right to opt children out of LGBTQ+ themed instruction on religious grounds.

🔑 Key Legal Tensions

• Parental rights often grounded in substantive due process under the 14th Amendment.
• Conservative justices (e.g., Clarence Thomas) skeptical of substantive due process, calling it an “oxymoron.”
• Parents in Foote case argue for extending protections beyond religion to moral/scientific objections to gender ideology.

📌 What’s Next

• Supreme Court will decide whether to hear Foote’s case.
• Ludlow School Committee urges denial, claiming no formal policy exists.
• Other similar cases (e.g., in Florida) are pending, meaning the Court will likely revisit the issue soon.
• Regardless of outcome, parental rights in education remain a major constitutional question.

Recommended Citation: Amy Howe, Parental rights, SCOTUSblog (Nov. 19, 2025, 9:30 AM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/parental-rights/