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A series of battles are being fought in courtrooms across this country over a question that would have seemed unthinkable a generation ago — whether parents have the right to know if their own child is being secretly “transitioned” at school. The Supreme Court's recent ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta was a crucial step forward, but there are still several parental rights cases seeking review at the high court, and the legal fights are far from over.
Consider the story of Amber Lavigne (la-VEEN), a Maine mother who discovered a chest binder hidden in her thirteen-year-old daughter's bedroom — provided by a school social worker, without her knowledge. Her daughter had been living as a boy named Leo at school for months. When Lavigne filed a complaint against the social workers involved, someone filed an anonymous abuse report against her. That's the world we're living in.
About six thousand public schools across more than twelve hundred districts have authorized hiding student gender transitions from parents. Schools maintain separate records — using a child's birth name at home and their new identity at school. In some cases, the concealment lasted years. In one New Jersey case, officials even announced a student's birth name over the intercom to hide the transition from a sibling at the same school. Research cited in these lawsuits tells us that up to ninety percent of children experiencing gender confusion will naturally grow out of it if left alone. But once a social transition begins, most lock in and keep going. These schools aren't helping kids —they’re steering them.
Justice Samuel Alito put it plainly in a 2024 concurring opinion — schools are asserting that parents are not entitled to know their children's identities. That knowledge, education elites say, must be earned. One Massachusetts school district told a federal appeals court that no court has established a parent's right to know their child's gender identity. That is unconscionable. Here’s the truth: children are being harmed. Parents are being deceived. And teachers who dare to tell the truth are being fired. The tide is turning now with the Supreme Court’s decisive Mirabelli v. Bonta ruling against California, but we must stay in the fight!
The Phyllis Schlafly Report will always keep you informed about these cases and school districts in your area! Get informed and join the fight at PhyllisSchlafly.com, that’s PhyllisSchlafly.com. Join us next time for the Phyllis Schlafly Report.
