State attorneys general ask Supreme Court to recognize parental rights in child transgender case

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is leading a coalition of 17 state attorneys general asking the Supreme Court to recognize parental rights in a case involving a Maryland school district’s transgender policies.

The attorneys general are intervening in a case involving parents who are challenging an appeals court ruling that they did not have the right to sue a school district over a policy that would allow teachers and administrators to transition children without the parents’ knowledge or consent.

“This egregious policy completely sidesteps parents’ rights and severs them from having involvement in their child’s physical, emotional, mental and social well-being,” Morrisey said in a statement Thursday evening. “Any time any organization or institution seeks to hide what they do when our children are in their care, it’s a huge red flag. Why would a school board encourage students to keep secrets from their parents?”

The case against Maryland’s Montgomery County Board of Education involves the school district’s “Guidelines for Student Gender Identity” and a provision in it that allows schools to develop a “gender-support plan” for students without the knowledge or consent of the child’s parents.