Parental rights are deeply rooted in our nation’s history and tradition. The relationship between parent and child is constitutionally protected. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution recognizes the freedom and sanctity of family life as one of our guaranteed liberties.

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Subsequently, the Supreme Court has ruled over a dozen times in the past 100 years that parents have “the fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care and custody of their children…It is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by the Court.” (Troxell v Granville, 2020).

The Supreme Court has also ruled that “Simply because the decision of a parent is not agreeable to a child or because it involves risks does not automatically transfer the power to make that decision from the parents to some agency or officer of the state.” (Parham v. J. R., 1979)

Shocking Appellate Decision

Yet in a shock decision covered last week by IFA, Court Rules Schools Can Secretly Transition Children, the 1^st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower federal court’s decision in Massachusetts that the parents of a middle school student did not have a constitutional right to be informed by the government-run public school that their 11-year-old daughter was identifying as “genderqueer” at school with a new name and pronouns.

In other words, it is okay for schools to hide a child’s transgender activity from them. While the parents argued that the school interfered with their parental rights as guaranteed by the Constitution, the school argued their gender policy was necessary to “ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment for students.”

It’s as if public schools see it as their job to help children exhibit as trans, even without a parent’s knowledge or consent, completely disrespecting the Supreme Court’s ruling in Prince v Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1944 of the “private realm of the family’s life which the state cannot enter.”

In this case, the school used the child’s trans name and pronouns while at school, allowed her to use the boys’ bathrooms, yet when discussing her with her parents used her given name and female pronouns.

The Foote v. Ludlow case is the first time a federal court of appeals has stepped into these controversial issues of a child’s trans rights vs. parental rights. The reasoning behind their decision would be almost laughable if it wasn’t so frightening.

Twisted Reasoning Behind the Appellate Court’s Ruling

In this case, Foote v. Ludlow, the First Circuit Court of Appeals admitted the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized parental rights in the care, custody and education of their children.

But the appellate court basically said “So what?”, and ruled that school authorities can substitute their judgment for the parents while the child is on school grounds.

The First Circuit also admitted that parents may direct the upbringing of their children, but parents can’t insist on the administrative rules used to run the school. So, the First Circuit simply called their gender policy of “inclusivity” as an administrative rule, which excluded parents.

The First Circuit admitted that schools shouldn’t lie to parents. When the parents discovered the school was using their child’s preferred boy’s name, the Court ruled the school didn’t lie. It just refused to talk about it with the parents.

The First Court ruled that nobody at the school forced the young girl to announce her “genderqueer” status. The school was simply giving her information about LGBTQ issues.

And here’s the truly scary language in the First Circuit’s decision. “Parental rights are not unlimited, Parents may not invoke the Due Process Clause to create a preferred educational experience for their child in public school. As per our understanding of Supreme Court precedent, our pluralistic society assigns those curricular and administrative decisions to the expertise of school officials, charged with the responsibility of educating children.”

Translation: Parents, sit down and shut up. You have no rights in the education of your children.

Are these court decisions the demonic opening the State will use to limit parental rights and destroy the family?

A Growing Trend of Courts Ruling Against Parents

The First Court’s reasoning is similar to another case ruled on in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Mahmoud v. Taylor. In this case, the Fourth Circuit ruled that the Montgomery County, Maryland school district did not have to inform parents of K-5 children of the school’s gender and sexuality instruction or have the opportunity to opt their child out since the parents failed to demonstrate a burden on their religious freedom and parental rights.

The parents petitioned the Supreme Court which agreed to hear the case. At issue according to SCOTUSblog: “Whether public schools burden parents’ religious exercise when they compel elementary school children to participate in instruction on gender and sexuality against their parents’ religious convictions and without notice or opportunity to opt out.” Oral arguments are set for April 22, 2025 with a decision expected by the end of June.

These are alarming trends in the courts to erode the rights of parents, for the government to gain greater control over the indoctrination of students and attack the sanctity of the family. The Foote and Mahmood appellate cases could be the precedent schools and other institutions use to limit parental rights to make educational and medical decisions for their children and control their upbringing.

Let’s pray for constitutional and heavenly wisdom to rule the Supreme Court Justices hearts and minds in reversing the Mahmoud case and to accept the Foote case.

Massachusetts Family Institute to File Petition in Foote v. Ludlow

Claiming that the Foote Appellate Decision trampled on parents’ rights, the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) in partnership with the Child and Parental Rights Campaign will be filing a petition on behalf of the parents with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting they take the case and reverse the First Circuit’s decision.

Vernadette R. Broyles, president and general counsel of the Georgia-based Child & Parental Rights Campaign, remarked, “It cannot be that minor children are no longer under their parents’ authority once they profess a trans identity. We will be petitioning the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari because this decision cannot stand.”

MFI’s Sam Whiting declared, “Radical ideologues can no longer be allowed to take advantage of vulnerable and confused children in public schools. Parental rights can no longer be usurped by educators who think that they can make better decisions for a child than their own parents.”

Please lift up MFI and the Child & Parental Rights Campaign as they fight for parents and children against the spirits of darkness seeking to destroy the family.

Let Us Pray

1. Pray for the Lord to guide the attorneys on the Foote v. Ludlow case as they take the next steps to appeal it and that the case will find favor before the U.S Supreme Court. Pray for wisdom and skill for the attorneys to present their petition clearly and with many winning points.
2. Pray that many would rally to their arguments, and the attorneys would find support and assistance from those in positions of power.
3. Pray for the Supreme Court to see the constitutional flaws in the First Circuit Appellate Court’s decision and eagerly accept the Foote case.
4. Pray the Lord would awaken all parents to the danger of government-run public schools, as well as private schools, in their attempts to take away the rights of parents in the education of their children in order to indoctrinate students in the LGBTQ agenda and Marxist ideology. Pray for courage for parents to stand at their local school board meetings and proclaim their constitutionally protected parental rights.
5. Pray for wisdom for the Supreme Court to restore parental rights and religious freedom in the Mahmoud case being heard on April 22.
6. Pray for peace to fill the hearts and home of the Foote family at the center of this case. Pray for God’s healing of this precious girl of any gender confusion and allow her natural hormones to flood her body and her mind so she can accept and embrace her female gender.
7. Pray for every child who is currently experiencing gender dysphoria and is confused about whether they are male or female. Pray that God will lift this confusion and suffering from their minds and bodies. Ask God to heal them, redeem them, and show them the abundant life waiting for them in the loving embrace of Jesus within whom their true identity lies.

Lord, our children are a heritage from You and precious in Your sight. Yet they are coming under such attack of the devil whose minions have invaded the public schools with their sexualization and grooming of children, pornographic library books and health classes teaching children every perversion and encouraging them to be gender confused. Lord, we declare that this cannot continue. We ask that you rid the public schools of this evil and radical ideology. Drive them out! In the Mighty Name of Jesus, Amen.  

Add your own prayers over this critical case in the comments below.

Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren. Photo Credit: Adam Szuscik on Unsplash.