Supreme Court backs parents over school gender policy

The US Supreme Court ruled by 6–3 in favour of parents and temporarily blocked California laws that allowed schools to withhold information from parents about their children’s gender identity.

The court’s conservative majority said the state cannot circumvent the primary role of parents in raising and protecting children, even under the pretext of safeguarding privacy. According to the ruling, the policy is likely to violate religious freedom and parental rights guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution.

The lawsuit was brought by Christian teachers and parents who warned that schools could promote so-called ‘social transition’ without the family’s knowledge. The liberal minority dissented, but the majority stressed that parents cannot be excluded from decisions concerning their children’s health and identity.

The ruling is widely seen as a significant victory for parental rights and a clear signal that state institutions must respect constitutional limits.

(reuters, pir)