Parental Rights and the Supreme Court
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One of the most important battles raging in America is the right of parents to direct their children’s upbringing. Aggressive promotion of LGTQ ideology in our public schools led to the parental rights revolt in 2021. Thousands of parents showed up at local school board meetings, demanding their children not be exposed to graphic sexual material and gay/transgender propaganda.
Big media, allied almost universally with the Left, smeared concerned parents as “right-wing.” The Biden Justice Department went further, labeling parents as potential “domestic terrorists.” The FBI actually established a 1-800 “snitch” line to report parents who were merely trying to protect their children. JDFI is thankful that the Trump administration has reversed those anti-parent policies and is pushing back against the LGBTQ agenda in classrooms.
There is more encouraging news on this front. A parental rights case has made it to the Supreme Court. We are hopeful about the outcome.
Here are the facts of the case. Montgomery County, Maryland, is a liberal suburban Washington, D.C., jurisdiction. The school board introduced LGBTQ reading materials into classrooms, including elementary schools, without allowing parents the right to opt their children out of the lessons. The material in question was entirely inappropriate. Children as young as four were asked to match LGBTQ images to corresponding words, including “intersex flag” and “drag queen.” Fifth graders were told that doctors are only guessing when identifying a newborn’s sex.
When the county refused to make changes, parents of several faith-backed traditions, including Protestants, Catholics, and Muslims, filed suit. We agree with their argument that parents have a constitutionally protected right to control the religious upbringing of their children. The right is equally true of issues relating to human sexuality and family life.
We were deeply disappointed on May 15, 2024, when the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that parents had no right to even be notified of the objectionable material nor to opt their children out of it. In September 2024, the ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court. Thankfully, on January 17 this year, the Court agreed to hear the case. The oral arguments will be presented on April 22, 2025. We are praying for a positive outcome.
The Supreme Court has previously held that children do not belong to the government and that parents have the right to make decisions impacting their well-being. Parental rights and religious liberty are fundamental rights that Dr. James Dobson has advocated for and defended during his entire ministry.
As he and I agreed in our book Children at Risk (1992), the battle for the hearts and minds of our children will determine whether America survives as a free nation.
Please join us in praying for a victory for parental rights at the Supreme Court. In addition, we urge parents and grandparents to pay close attention to what their children are being exposed to in classrooms in the name of “diversity” or “tolerance.”
