A federal appeals court has ruled that parents cannot challenge a Maryland school district’s policy of not informing parents about their children identifying as transgender or gender-nonconforming. The court found that the parents lacked standing to challenge the policy as they had not alleged their children’s transgender identity.
The policy allows schools to create gender support plans for students to express their gender identity comfortably. The policy directs school staff to help transgender students with preferred pronouns, names, and bathrooms, while not informing parents without consent.
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A federal appeals court has delivered a verdict concerning a Maryland school district’s policy that prohibits informing parents about their children identifying as transgender or gender-nonconforming.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that three parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, lacked the legal standing to challenge this policy.
This conclusion was reached on the grounds that the parents had not asserted that their children identified as transgender in the first place.
The school district’s policy, which was adopted by the Montgomery County Board of Education for the 2020-2021 school year, allows schools to develop and implement gender support plans aimed at creating a conducive environment for students to comfortably express their gender identity.
As part of this policy, school staff are directed to work with transgender and gender-nonconforming students to formulate plans that address their preferred pronouns, chosen names, and appropriate restroom facilities.
Notably, the policy also explicitly forbids school staff from notifying parents about these gender support plans without the prior consent of the student involved.
Several lawsuits are currently pending, challenging similar policies in various states. However, the Maryland case holds the distinction of being the first of its kind to be argued before a federal appeals court.
The three parents who contested the policy were supported by the National Legal Foundation, a Christian conservative group. They contended that the parental notification policy violated their due process rights as established by the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which guarantees their authority to oversee their children’s care.
Despite their arguments, U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum, who was joined by U.S. Circuit Judge Allison Jones Rushing (both appointed by former Republican President Donald Trump), ruled that the parents did not possess the requisite standing to pursue their claims despite their “compelling arguments.”
This ruling stemmed from the fact that the parents had failed to assert that their children had developed gender support plans or identified as transgender, rendering their opposition to the policy a matter of “policy disagreement” rather than a legal concern.
“And policy disagreements should be addressed to elected policymakers at the ballot box, not to unelected judges in the courthouse,” Quattlebaum stated.
While the case was dismissed without prejudice, allowing for a possible future re-filing, U.S. Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer, an appointee of Republican former President George H.W. Bush, dissented from the majority opinion.
He argued that the court’s decision constituted “an unfortunate abdication of judicial duty with respect to a very important constitutional issue.”
“The issue of whether and how grade school and high school students choose to pursue gender transition is a family matter, not one to be addressed initially and exclusively by public schools without the knowledge and consent of parents,” Niemeyer wrote.
The case is titled John and Jane Parents 1, et al, v. Montgomery County Board of Education, et al, and is under the jurisdiction of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, bearing case number 22-2034.
Frederick Claybrook, the attorney representing the parents, has indicated that they are considering their options moving forward.
“Parents do not have to wait until they find out that damage has been done in secret before they may complain,” he said.
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