As Colorado lawmakers consider a bill that would take custody rights away from parents who diverge from transgender orthodoxy, the Trump administration’s Education Department says that children aren’t the property of the government.
“Children do not belong to the government. They belong to parents,” Education Department spokeswoman Julie Hartman told The Daily Signal.
The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill April 6 that would remove kids from parents’ custody for behaviors such as “misgendering” and “deadnaming” a transgender-identifying child. The bill has yet to progress in the Colorado Senate.
HB 1312 defines “coercive control” as including “deadnaming, misgendering, or threatening to publish material related to an individual’s gender-affirming health care services.”
“A court shall consider reports of coercive control when determining the allocation of parental responsibilities in accordance with the best interests of the child,” the summary adds.
These provisions would effectively require parents to endorse gender ideology in order to maintain custody of their own children in a dispute.
“The department will not tolerate abuse of parents’ rights—or of students who are victims of predatory behavior by adults who are supposed to protect them,” Hartman said.
The Department of Education on March 28 sent a “Dear Colleague” letter directing schools to comply with federal parental rights laws.
Those laws include the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which gives parents the right to inspect their children’s school’s educational records, and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, which gives parents the right to notice of surveys and the right to opt their children out.
The Office of Civil Rights has also launched investigations into Maine, California, and Washington state for reportedly concealing student gender identity from parents.
“Parents should be the primary decision-makers when it comes to their child’s education,” Hartman said.
Tyler O’Neil contributed to this report.