South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a coalition of 21 states and Guam in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review Foote v. Ludlow School Committee, a case centered on parental rights within public schools.
The case concerns parents in Massachusetts who allege that their eleven-year-old daughter was “socially transitioned” by school officials without their knowledge or consent. According to court documents, the child was given a new name, pronouns, and access to different bathroom facilities while this information was withheld from her parents. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the actions of the school district.
“Parental rights don’t stop at the schoolhouse door. What happened in Massachusetts is a warning to every family in America, and South Carolina is standing up to stop it,” said Attorney General Wilson. “The Constitution makes it clear that parents, not government employees, have the first and final say in raising their children, especially on matters as sensitive and life-altering as a child’s upbringing and gender. We will not let activist school boards push parents to the sidelines.”
The coalition’s brief argues that the appellate court’s decision challenges longstanding legal precedent recognizing parents as primary decision-makers for their children’s upbringing. The states are asking the Supreme Court to take up the case in order to clarify constitutional boundaries between families and public schools.
Alongside South Carolina, states joining this effort include Montana, West Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia—and Guam.
