RI backs Mass. school in legal fight over parental notification in schools

PROVIDENCE – A legal challenge to a Massachusetts school district’s decision not to inform parents of their child’s choice of gender identity, name and preferred pronouns that could settle the legal landscape in similar cases in Rhode Island is soon to be heard by a federal appeals court.

The case, which is being closely watched by LGBTQ advocates in New England, involves four parents’ allegations that Ludlow school officials violated their rights to direct their children’s upbringing by failing to disclose their childrens' decision to establish a new gender identity at school. It is expected to be considered in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the coming months, with other interested parties weighing in, including the State of Rhode Island through Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

Underpinnings of the case that may define legal landscape for schools, parents and students' gender identity

Two sets of parents sued the Ludlow School Committee and other officials in April 2022 in federal court in Massachusetts, alleging that school officials violated their fundamental parental rights under the 14th Amendment by speaking with their then 11- and 12-year-old children about gender identity; complying with the children’s requests to use alternative names and pronouns; and then opting to not share the information with them.

The parents framed their claims in the context of their rights as parents to make decisions for their children without state interference. The school officials countered that their actions were in keeping with their obligations to provide a nondiscriminatory environment to all their students under Massachusetts law.

A judge granted the school’s motion to dismiss the claims last December, concluding that “states enjoy a general power to regulate the schools they support. … This includes the power to prescribe a curriculum designed to promote tolerance and provide a safe learning environment for all students.”

“While parents do not have to send their children to public school, those who make that choice ‘do not have a constitutional right to direct how a public school teaches their child.’ … The Commonwealth of Massachusetts recognizes gender identity as a personal characteristic deserving of protection from discrimination,” the court continued.

Since 2012, Massachusetts has provided that “[n]o person shall be excluded from or discriminated against . . . in obtaining the advantages, privileges and courses of study of [a] public school on account of . . . gender identity.”

Chris Erchull, a lawyer with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), said the ruling is in keeping with others nationwide.

“The courts give schools a lot of deference and leeway,” Erchull said. “Schools have an obligation to provide a supportive environment. ... For students who are transgender and gender nonconforming, it’s really critical for them to have support in school and everywhere else in their life.”

While everyone would agree that ideally it’s best for students to talk to their parents about such concerns at home, Erchull said some students could face harm in doing so.

The parents have appealed the ruling to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They are asking the appeals court to overturn the dismissal, arguing that the state cannot use its authority to regulate schools to justify interfering with parental rights to direct the upbringing of their children related to health and well-being.

GLAD, RI, others weigh in

GLAD, the State of Rhode Island and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents are among the parties backing the Ludlow schools.

Rhode Island joined 15 other states in arguing that schools have broad discretion to shape their environment to ensure student success and have an interest in maintaining a safe and supportive environment for all youth, including transgender students.

“We are always concerned that kids always seem to learn best when they are in a safe and supportive environment,” Michael Long, general counsel for the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, said of his organization’s support for Ludlow.

The ruling will dictate how federal courts throughout New England and Puerto Rico treat similar challenges, Long said.

Smithfield schools considered policy changes

The court case comes as the Smithfield School Committee recently considered changes to the schools Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Transitioning Students Policy that would have required school officials to notify parents about students' decisions regarding their gender identity and put in place new rules governing access to gender-segregated bathrooms in the schools.

The issue brought more than 100 people, including LGBTQ+ students and representatives with Parents United Rhode Island, to an at-times heated community forum June 17, according to the Valley Breeze reports.

Ryan Fontaine, a trans health education specialist with Thundermist Health Center and lifelong Rhode Islander, told of experiencing a climate in high school that was hostile to the “very few openly queer kids” and stressed that the schools are charged with operating in students’ best interests.

“Outing a student to unsupportive parents is not in their best interests,” she said to applause.

Ultimately, the committee walked back the changes and approved a policy that was in keeping with Rhode Island Department of Education guidance on transgender and gender-non-conforming students.

RIDE guidance states that “transgender and gender non-conforming students have the right to discuss and express their gender identity and expression openly and to decide when, with whom, and how much to share private information.” It cautions that schools should not discuss a student’s gender identity with the parent(s) or guardians(s) if school personnel believe it may jeopardize the student’s physical or mental safety.

The policy the committee approved acknowledges that some transgender students do not want their parents to know about their status and that situations must be addressed on a case-by-case basis that balances the goal of supporting the student with the desire that parents be kept informed. The schools agreed to put into place measures to work with the student to involve their parent/guardian.

Fontaine, who transitioned in college, said she was pleased with the outcome, but that some of the rhetoric spoken during the forum had harmed students.

“In the end we were pleased with what happened, but the process was harmful, which was disappointing,” Fontaine said. Thundermist Health Center has helped more than 2,000 patients in transition since its trans health clinic was established in 2015.

Patience “Polly” Crozier, director of family advocacy at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, observed that in 2001 Rhode Island became the second state in the nation to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression, thus protecting transgender people.

“I’m pleased to see community members stand up and really speak their peace. I think it’s really great that the School Committee reversed,” she said. “Rhode Island has a really strong history of supporting and affirming the rights of transgender people.”

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI backs Mass. school in legal fight over parental notification in schools