As the school year begins, I was reflecting back upon the scourge of Fauci’s China Virus and the friction that erupted between schools, school districts, and parents.
Because of the overreaching and heavy handedness of school authorities during this dark period, in-person school classes for students were stopped and online zoom classes took their place. This on-line learning ‘pulled back the curtain’ and enlightened millions of parents to the toxic subject matter their children were being force-fed. Parents revolted and began attending school board meetings to demand answers.
Incredibly, in response to their efforts to protect their own children—parents, who were understandably frustrated with lockdowns, school closures, mandates, and graphic sexual library and “educational” content—were labelled ‘domestic terrorists” by the Biden Department of Justice.
Well, with a new school year upon us, I am happy to report that there are several powerful legal authorities that have returned control and direction of children’s education to their parents.
Among the decisions strengthening parental rights are recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions, including Mahmoud v. Taylor, which provides parents “the right to opt out.” The Court held that the Montgomery County, Md., public schools had violated parents’ First Amendment rights by refusing to provide notice and opportunity for parents, who objected on religious grounds, to opt out of instruction involving “LGBTQ+-inclusive” storybooks. Another Supreme Court ruling is Mirabelli v. Bonta, wherein the Court ordered that a school’s facilitation of a child’s “gender transition” without parental consent likely violates the parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing and education.
What these two cases mean is that parents have the right to demand that school districts provide them with the ability to opt their children out of any sex-related materials and gender “education” the parents find objectionable.
Another legal source for parents regarding their children’s educational journey through public schools is The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This Act provides parents with the right to access their children’s “records, files, documents, and other materials which contain information directly related” to their children. This expansive definition includes records related to “gender identity,” including the use of different names or pronouns that don’t match the child’s sex. Schools that don’t adhere could lose their federal funding.
Infuriatingly, many school districts purposely keep records related to a student’s “gender identity” separately to block parents from accessing them. Fortunately, the Trump Education Department is investigating this duplicity and inviting enforcement actions by the Department of Justice.
So, concerned parents desiring to see their children’s educational records should make clear that their request is being made under FERPA, and they should specifically request that all records related to “gender identity” be included. If the school drags its feet or otherwise ignores the request, a parent may file a formal complaint with the Education Department.
Parents also have the right to review the curriculum at their child’s school under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). The PPRA affords parents the right to inspect instructional materials used in connection with their child’s education. PPRA also generally prevents schools from requiring students to answer questions concerning personal subjects relating to the student or their family—including political beliefs, religious beliefs, mental or psychological issues, sexual behavior, etc.—without their parent’s knowledge and consent.
I also remind parents with school-age children that Title IX protects sex-separated spaces. This provision prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex,” and it applies to all schools that receive federal funds. The Supreme Court held in B.P.J. v. West Virginia that the term “sex” as used in Title IX and its regulations “cannot plausibly be interpreted to refer to anything other than biological sex.” As a result, schools can no longer insist that Title IX requires them to permit students to access opposite-sex restrooms or locker rooms.
These legal authorities make clear that courts will treat a failure to abide by these requests of parents as a deprivation of a parent’s constitutional rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has many times recognized the fundamental liberty interest of American parents in the education of their own children and firmly reinforces that here.
As the key building block of society, a God-fearing, patriotic family unit is a key impediment to the totalitarian atheism of authoritarian governments. And thus, it must be destroyed. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has forcefully and persuasively clarified, through several of its key cases, that ‘the Constitution says emphatically no to this policy insanity.’
Shreveport attorney, Royal Alexander, worked in D.C. in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 8 years for two different Members of Congress from Louisiana.