Supreme Court rejects parents’ complaint over child’s gender identity

April 20 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case over whether a public school district violated parents’ rights by using preferred pronouns and a preferred name for their child.

The court’s decision keeps a lower court’s ruling in effect that rejects the claim by two Massachusetts parents. The parents complained that their child, who is in middle school, was allowed by school officials to socially transition without their knowledge.

Attorneys for the school said they began to refer to the student by a preferred name and pronouns after receiving an email from the student that read “I am genderqueer,” and requested the use of a new name and pronouns.

The parents asked that the school not have private discussions with their child on the subject and said they were seeking professional help.

The parents argue that the school encouraged their child to pursue these changes and that their right to raise their child as they choose under the 14th Amendment right to due process was violated. They filed a lawsuit against the school district in 2022.

The Supreme Court declined to take up a similar case out of Wisconsin in December.

“Today’s denial by the Supreme Court is a missed opportunity to defend parental rights,” Jim Campbell, chief counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement.

ADF, a conservative Christian legal advocacy organization, represented the Massachusetts parents.

The school district told the court that it does not have a policy in place related to informing parents about students requesting preferred pronouns or to be called by a different name.

“The Court should deny the petition here because it has been asked to render an advisory opinion on a policy that does not exist,” the school district said in court filings.