Family Council Joins Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Address School Gender Transition Case

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On Thursday, Family Council joined an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case over a Massachusetts school that helped an eleven-year old girl “socially transition” genders without her parents’ knowledge.

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have discuss this case repeatedly, writing,

During the 2020-21 school year, a 6th-grade girl in Ludlow, Massachusetts, shared with a teacher that she had told a friend she ‘likes girls,’ was experiencing low self-esteem and depression, and needed help. The teacher shared these concerns with the girl’s mother, and both agreed to work together to help her. The student’s parents promptly got their daughter a therapist, informed the school she was getting professional help, and expressly directed school staff to have no further private conversations with their daughter about her mental health issues. But when the student sent an email to teachers and counselors informing them that she now identified as “genderqueer” and wanted to be addressed by a new name and a new list of pronouns, they began doing so without informing the student’s parents or asking for their consent. The parents found out and asked the district to stop, but it refused. The parents filed a lawsuit challenging the school district’s clear violation of their parental rights, and Alliance Defending Freedom filed an amicus brief in their support at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. Unfortunately, the 1st Circuit failed to protect parental rights.

Family Council joined a coalition of 50 organizations in an amicus brief by Advancing American Freedom on Thursday. The brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the parents’ lawsuit against the school.

The brief also argues that parental rights are essential and that schools should respect them.

Over the years, we have seen pro-LGBT activists use public schools to promote transgender ideology to kids in many different ways — but policymakers have pushed back.

In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 461 to prevent male athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school. This good law protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

That same year, lawmakers passed the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act generally prohibiting doctors from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. That law has since been upheld in federal court.

In 2023, Arkansas lawmakers passed Act 317 to protect privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities by requiring public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use.

Legislators also passed Act 274 of 2023 letting a child who undergoes a sex-change procedure sue the healthcare provider who performed the procedure if the child suffers any injury as a result.

In 2023, the Arkansas Legislature passed the LEARNS Act overhauling public education in Arkansas, prohibiting critical race theory in public schools, and protecting young elementary school children from inappropriate sexual material in the classroom.

This year legislators passed Act 955 by Sen. Blake Johnson (R — Corning) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) protecting physical privacy and safety of Arkansans in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in government buildings, jails, and in shelters for victims of domestic violence.

Taken together, all of these good laws protect children at school and elsewhere around the state. Public school students should not be taught to question their sexual-orientation or their gender, and schools should not lie to parents about what their children are learning at school.

Family Council is pleased to take a stand for parental rights in federal court. We hope the U.S. Supreme Court will take up this case.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Minnesota Court Battle Shows Why Arkansas’ Law Protecting Women’s Sports Matters

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On Wednesday a federal court in Minnesota heard oral arguments in a lawsuit over fairness in women’s sports.

The group Female Athletes United is challenging a Minnesota policy that lets male athletes compete in women’s athletics.

We have written many times about how male athletes have taken first place medals and podium spots away from women and girls.

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education and in activities that receive federal funding — like school athletic programs. But in recent years there have been various policies and rules that drastically redefined “sex” under state and federal law to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

As a result, many policymakers and educators — including officials in Minnesota — have adopted policies that let male athletes compete in women’s sports and use girls’ locker rooms, showers, restrooms, and changing areas at school.

Female Athletes United is an organization that advocates for women and girls in sports. In May, the organization filed a lawsuit to strike down Minnesota’s policy that lets biological males compete in girls’ sports. The organization is represented by attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom. Wednesday’s arguments in court are part of the lawsuit to strike down Minnesota’s policy.

In a statement, Alliance Defending Freedom wrote,

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys represent Female Athletes United in a lawsuit challenging a discriminatory Minnesota athletics policy that violates the equal treatment and athletic opportunities for girls guaranteed by Title IX.

“Minnesota is failing its female athletes,” said ADF Senior Counsel Rory Gray, who will be arguing before the court. “The state is putting males ahead of females, telling girls their hard work may never be enough to win and that they don’t deserve fairness and safety. By sacrificing protection for female athletes, Minnesota fails to offer girls equal treatment and opportunity, violating Title IX’s provisions. We are advocating for true equality in sports and urge the court to enjoin Minnesota’s discriminatory policy.”

It seems likely that our federal courts ultimately will rule against Minnesota’s policy and uphold fairness in women’s sports.

Earlier this year, President Trump signed executive orders protecting fairness in women’s sports.

Since then the U.S. Department of Education has worked hard to ensure public schools, colleges, and universities treat women and girls fairly.

Letting men compete in women’s sports is unfair, and it effectively erases women’s athletics.

Female swimmers, powerlifters, cyclists, sprinters, volleyball players, and others have seen their sports radically changed by men who claim to be women. That hampers their ability to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults.

In some sports, letting men compete against women can even be dangerous.

In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 461 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) preventing male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school. This good law protects fairness in women’s sports — and it has spared Arkansas from some of the legal battles that other states have faced over athletic programs.

Arkansas also has adopted good laws protecting physical privacy in school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and sleeping accommodations.

Most Americans agree that athletes should compete according to their biological sex — not their gender identity.

We deeply appreciate organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom and Female Athletes United who stand up for fairness in women’s sports. We also appreciate Arkansas’ lawmakers who have enacted good measures protecting fairness in women’s sports in our state.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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U.S. Department of Education Continues to Roll Back Transgender Policies at Schools

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Over the past two weeks, the U.S. Department of Education has continued to push back against pro-transgender policies that many schools adopted under the Biden Administration.

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education and in activities that receive federal funding — like school athletic programs. But the Biden Administration issued executive orders and rules drastically redefining “sex” under federal law to include sexual orientation and gender identity. As a result, many schools, colleges, and universities adopted policies that let male athletes compete in women’s sports and use girls’ locker rooms, showers, restrooms, and changing areas at school.

However, earlier this year, President Trump signed executive orders undoing many of the Biden Administration’s bad policies.

Since then the U.S Department of Education has worked hard to ensure public schools, colleges, and universities treat women and girls fairly.

On July 25, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that five Northern Virginia school districts had policies in place letting biological males use girls’ locker rooms and restrooms at school.

In a press release, the Office for Civil Rights said:

In February of this year, OCR opened an investigation into Alexandria City Public Schools, Arlington Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools, Loudoun County Public Schools, and Prince William County Public Schools. The investigation was based on complaints alleging that the Divisions have similar anti-discrimination policies pertaining to “transgender-identifying” students, which violate the sex-based protections of Title IX. The Divisions are also the subject of several lawsuits, informal complaints, and reports, which allege that students in the Divisions avoid using school restrooms whenever possible because of the schools’ policies, and that female students have witnessed male students inappropriately touching other students and watching female students change in a female locker room. 

On August 1, the U.S. Department of Education announced Wagner College in New York has entered into a Resolution Agreement to comply with Title IX.

Earlier this year, female fencer Stephanie Turner forfeited a match after she was forced to compete against a biological male from Wagner College during the women’s event at USA Fencing’s Cherry Blossom Open competition. The Department of Education opened an investigation into Wagner as a result.

According to the Department of Education, Wagner has agreed to make sure biological males do not compete in women’s sports and “issue a personalized letter of apology to any Wagner College female fencer and issue a public statement of apology to all female athletes who were required to compete against a male in a Wagner athletics program designated for women.”

In July, the Department of Education made a similar announcement when it issued a press release saying the University of Pennsylvania had agreed to restore female athletes’ swimming records, issue apologies to female swimmers, and take steps to make sure biological males don’t compete in women’s athletics.

We have written repeatedly about how female swimmers, powerlifters, cyclists, sprinters, volleyball players, and others have seen their sports radically changed by men who claim to be women.

Letting men compete in women’s sports effectively erases women’s athletics.

It hampers women’s ability to compete for athletic scholarships and hurts their professional opportunities as adults.

In some sports, letting men compete against women can even be dangerous.

Concerned Women for America reports that more than 1,900 male athletes have taken first place medals away from women and girls.

In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 461 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) preventing male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school. This good law protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin also recently joined 26 other state attorneys general in signing a formal letter calling on the NCAA to restore records and honors to female athletes.

And Arkansas has adopted good laws protecting physical privacy in school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and sleeping accommodations.

Most Americans agree that athletes should compete according to their biological sex — not their gender identity.

We deeply appreciate our elected leaders and policymakers who work hard to stand up for fairness in women’s sports both in Arkansas and across the country.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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