Parents, know and defend your rights

When Joe and Serena Wailes allowed their 11-year-old daughter to attend a trip to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., sponsored by their public school district, they were told she would room with three other fifth grade girls. It wasn’t until their daughter was in her room getting ready for bed on the first night of the trip that she discovered she would share a bed with a boy who self-identified as a girl.

Bret and Susanne Roller live in the same school district in Colorado, Jefferson County Public Schools, locally known as “JeffCo.” When they sent their 11-year-old son on a sixth grade camping trip known as Outdoor Lab, they were told their son would be in a cabin with six to 30 other boys, including a male high school counselor. It wasn’t until their son was in the mountains—away from home and without any means of communication—that he realized the school district had lied. His 18-year-old counselor was not male but was instead a “non-binary” female. The Rollers’ son soon found out that this counselor was not just sleeping and changing in the same cabin but was also tasked by the school district to supervise the boys’ showers, including his own.

The Wailes and Roller families recently joined with another family to enlist the legal help of Alliance Defending Freedom. They filed a lawsuit against JeffCo for refusing to give parents truthful, pertinent information about their children’s overnight accommodations, thus hampering the rights of parents to make informed decisions about their children’s upbringing, education, and privacy.

At the core of the school district’s policy that allows this egregious behavior is the idea that the government can raise kids better than parents. Indeed, across the country, emboldened school officials believe they ought to be trusted to make critical decisions about a child’s education, privacy, and, in some cases, their mental or physical health, often leaving parents completely in the dark—or, worse yet, separating a child from her parents because they object to her “gender transition,” as happened recently in Switzerland.

While very real struggles are certainly happening in schools, courts, and legislatures over the well-being of our children, a spiritual tug-of-war is going on for their souls—in the unseen but also very real spiritual realm. God wants children to find their identity in Him, for no one and nothing else can satisfy their deepest needs. But policies like JeffCo’s threaten to confuse children. And we know that when laws or policies run contrary to God’s Word, parents have every right to intervene on their children’s behalf.

Take, for example, “mama bears” like Tammy Fournier, a Wisconsin mother who fought in court for her daughter—and won. Last year, a state court ruled that a school district’s policy of changing students’ names and pronouns at school without parental consent—and even over their objections—violates parental rights. With the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, ADF attorneys represented Fournier and her daughter Autumn in the groundbreaking legal victory that set the stage for future parental rights cases.

In the case of the Colorado families, all the parents are asking for is information and for schools to respect the role of parents. It’s reasonable for every parent to want to make informed decisions to protect their child’s privacy before it’s too late—when the parents are not there, when the burden falls on the child to ask her roommates whether they’re male or female, and when there is a greater risk of causing all students discomfort or embarrassment.

Parents, now that your children have returned to school, know your rights. You can—and should—question government policies that harm instead of help your kids. As you vote in local elections and get involved in school board meetings, be confident that you know and love your kids best. Parents, not the government, have the constitutionally protected freedom to direct the upbringing, education, and healthcare of their children.

While we remain vigilant and active in our communities, our ultimate hope rests in a loving Father who cares so deeply for all children—His love is greater even than the best parents. May He shield our kids, give parents wisdom this school year, and guide government officials into the knowledge of the truth.