Northeast
Federal appeals court rejects parents' challenge to school policy that hid students' gender identity
Massachusetts parents hope to take their case before the U.S. Supreme Court after a federal court ruled that they do not have a constitutional right to be notified about their child’s gender transition at school.
In a February 18 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld a lower court’s dismissal of the lawsuit first filed by parents Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri in 2022 against Ludlow Public Schools.
The lawsuit accuses school staff at Paul R. Baird Middle School in Ludlow, Massachusetts, of secretly encouraging their then- 11-year-old daughter to adopt a new name and different gendered pronouns while at school.
The parents argue that the school’s nondisclosure policy, which keeps a student’s requested gender identity from parents unless the student consents, violates their parental rights protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
JUDGE DISMISSES MA PARENTS’ LAWSUIT OVER SCHOOL GENDER POLICY, SCOLDS DISTRICT: ‘DISCONCERTING’
Parents lost a lawsuit in federal court this month challenging a Massachusetts school district policy that affirmed and concealed their child’s gender identity. (iStock via Getty/AP Photo)
“[The Ludlow School Committee and implicated educators] exceeded the bounds of legitimate pedagogical concerns and usurped the role of [the plaintiffs] and other parents in the Town of Ludlow to direct the education and upbringing of their children, make medical and mental health decisions for their children and to promote and preserve family privacy and integrity,” the lawsuit alleges.
Vernadette Ramirez Broyles, President and General Counsel for the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, represented the parents in court and said that they plan to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
“We’re very disappointed and frankly disturbed by this decision,” Broyles told Fox News Digital. “I truly believe that parents across the nation, across Massachusetts, of all political stripes, will be disturbed by this.”
According to the lawsuit, Baird Middle School students were given a biographical video assignment by the school librarian that asked them to include their pronouns. Afterward, the plaintiffs’ daughter began receiving “unsolicited” LGBTQ video suggestions on her school computer, which made her start questioning her gender identity and sexuality, the lawsuit says.
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L.G.B.T. activists and their supporters rally in support of transgender people on the steps of New York City Hall, October 24, 2018, in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
After a teacher informed the parents that their daughter had confided in her that she was struggling with depression, self-esteem issues and confusion about her sexuality, the parents thanked the teacher and emailed teachers and school administrators to inform them they were seeking private counseling for their child. The parents directly instructed school officials to not have private conversations with their daughter about the issue.
Unbeknownst to the parents, the daughter later e-mailed the school counselor to say she was “genderqueer” and requested to be called by a new name and pronouns while at school.
The parents allege that various school officials — the librarian, principal, counselor and superintendent — violated their request by affirming and privately counseling the student about her gender identity, without their knowledge or consent, in alignment with the district’s nondisclosure policy.
Over one thousand school districts across the nation have gender identity nondisclosure policies, Parents Defending Education says. (istock)
A 3-judge panel of the First Circuit Court, entirely composed of Democratic presidential appointees, sided with the Ludlow school district.
The panel ruled that the district’s nondisclosure policy “does not restrict parental rights in a way courts have recognized as a violation of the guarantees of substantive due process.”
The ruling recognized parents’ rights to be “informed of, and to direct, significant aspects of their child’s life,” but added that those rights “are not unlimited.”
“Parents may not invoke the Due Process Clause to create a preferred educational experience for their child in public school,” the ruling states.
The panel rejected the parents’ argument that the school’s actions constituted medical or mental health treatment, and argued that discussions about gender identity with the student were within the scope of the school’s ability to make “curricular and administrative decisions.”
MASSACHUSETTS PARENTS SUE SCHOOL, SAY OFFICIALS ENCOURAGED CHILDREN TO USE NEW NAMES, PRONOUNS WITHOUT CONSENT
Parents across the nation have filed lawsuits against school districts for concealing students’ gender identity from parents. (Fox News Digital)
The judges argued that Ludlow’s protocol followed guidance handed down by the Commonwealth’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), advising schools on how to comply with state laws against gender identity discrimination in public schools.
The DESE guidance suggests school officials accommodate a student’s requested gender identity to make them feel safe and supported and ask for their consent before informing parents, if they are 14 years of age or older.
“If a student is under 14 and is not yet in the ninth grade, the student’s parent (alone) has the authority to decide on disclosures and other student record matters,” the guidance states.
Broyles told Fox News Digital that there were a number of issues with this defense.
First, the Education Department’s guidance was voluntary, so schools were not required to follow it, she said. Second, it did not apply in this case as the students were under 14 years old, and third, this guidance still must be interpreted in light of the U.S. Constitution.
She argued the court ruling expanded the authority of school officials over the family’s “personal, intimate mental health decisions.”
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Lawyers for Massachusetts parents Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri argued the gender identity nondisclosure protocol, affirming students’ gender identity without consulting parents, was an unconstitutional mental health intervention. (iStock)
“Effectively, parents are losing the ability to direct the upbringing of their child if they choose to send their children to public schools that they pay for in their taxes. That cannot possibly be the standard for the children of the First Circuit,” she said.
The lawsuit claimed school officials also applied the gender identity protocol to their 12-year-old son, who also began using a different name and pronouns around the same time of these events. However, the federal court’s decision only focused on the younger child, saying there were “scant relevant details” provided specific to the student’s older sibling.
The Massachusetts Family Institute also represented the parents in court.
The Ludlow defendants’ attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
David Lawless, a lawyer for the Ludlow School Committee, called the First Circuit’s decision a “characteristically thoughtful and well-reasoned opinion,” Reuters reported.
The case is one of several cases nationally coming from parents suing school districts over their gender identity policies that conceal the child’s transgender identity from parents.
According to conservative education watchdog Parents Defending Education, there are at least 1,195 school districts across 37 states and Washington, D.C., that have policies that explicitly state that school officials “can or should keep a student’s transgender status hidden from parents.”
President Trump signed an executive order in January calling to strip federal funding for “illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Afloat is an ideal option if you’ve ever had dreams of owning your own boat but have been told that boat ownership requires endless reserves of cash. Or if you’ve ever wanted to experience a houseboat, although I’d describe my houseboat as more of a floating hotel room.
I’ve made no secret of my dislike of the word “staycation,” but I’ll admit that booking at Afloat is as close as you can get to a staycation in Boston. Depending on your sea legs and your tolerance of motion, of course.
This is also one of the best lodging deals in Boston. My petite houseboat with a queen bed (although it looked more like a double) was $260 a night; two-bedroom yachts were $350. Moored at Constitution Marina in Charlestown, with views of the Zakim Bridge, the only way to get better water views would be to jump into the harbor.
There were some downsides to my houseboat, named Casita, which I believe translates into “little house with a touch of saltwater corrosion that bobs gently in a marina.” The interior was small, as in, I wouldn’t recommend this houseboat for anyone over 230 pounds or over 6 feet 2 inches, give or take. If you’re a hotel snob, it might not be a fit for your high-falutin’ tastes. The room is spartan, but it had everything I needed. There was a full bathroom, a coffee maker, a refrigerator, a hair dryer, an iron, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, heat, and a television.
Wait, but there’s more! There are plenty of moored boats and houseboats that you can rent on Airbnb or VRBO, but how many of them include a pool where you can splash your cares away? Or communal barbecues where you can BYOB (that’s bring your own beef) and grill your dinner? These are marina extras included in my stay that I was not expecting. I spent time by the pool with a soccer-crazed family from Norway. I tried to change the topic from soccer to my favorite Norwegian pop stars. The family hastily grabbed their towels and left the pool area.
There are people to escort you to your boat and carry your luggage. They also explained the room’s features. I assume if I were staying on a yacht, the orientation would be more detailed, including “do not untie this boat and start sailing to Bermuda.” There was a paper bag on the bed of my room filled with houseboat essentials: lip balm, a tin of mints, a blueberry Nutri-Grain bar, a bag of mini rice cakes, and a postcard of the marina.
Afloat has another advantage that I hadn’t anticipated. It gave me entrance to the rarified world of marina life. At one point or another, we’ve all walked by a marina and looked down as sun-kissed boat owners sipped beer on the decks of their yachts or hosed down their sailboats after a day at sea. We walk by, green in the gills with envy, trying to justify our feelings by saying that buying a boat is about as solid an investment as encasing cash in concrete and throwing it to the bottom of the ocean. But really, we want to be a part of it.
Finally, I had an entree into the marina universe. I walked around and checked out the other boats, my bare feet on the warm wooden planks. I casually waved or said, “How’s it going?” in a tone that indicated that I was also a part of marina culture, my imaginary yacht sitting nearby. I’m sure my jaunty nautical ensembles helped solidify my place there.
I generally avoid bed-and-breakfasts in the same way I avoid smiling folks on the sidewalk holding a clipboard who say, “Excuse me, sir, do you have a minute…” But Afloat is a different kind of B&B. I didn’t have to talk to other guests or sit awkwardly at a table with strangers in the morning. There’s also no hard and fast rule that breakfast ends at 9 a.m., which, coincidentally, is the time I normally wake up.
Instead, when you check in, you’re given $10 vouchers for Emmi Bakery & Cafe, which is a fish’s throw from the marina. Here, I could get whatever I liked, whenever I liked (the cafe closes at 4 p.m.), without feeling obligated to make small talk with strangers. The advantage of staying in a houseboat over a yacht is that it has a small, private deck adjacent to it, surrounded by herbs and flowers. I invited friends over, some of whom did not appreciate the charms of Casita as much as I did.
My husband was the first visitor. He entered with a look of horror and declared, “This place is terrible. I thought you only stayed at nice hotels.” Within five minutes, he grew seasick and quickly exited, never to return.
“I’m going to call you in the morning to make sure you haven’t floated out to sea,” he said as I rolled my eyes.
Other friends were kinder, but not much. I broke out a bottle of wine on the deck at sunset while my friends popped open the Dramamine. I barely noticed the sway, but the more delicate among you might blanch quickly.
Being at Constitution Marina gave me an excuse to explore Charlestown, a part of the city that I rarely see. Not because I don’t like it, but because parking can be a bear. I had dinner outside at Monument Restaurant and Tavern, looked around at Boston National Historic Park, and took the MBTA ferry from Charlestown to Long Wharf. For $3.75, I had a quick scenic spin in the harbor.
I’ll give the houseboat at Bed and Breakfast Afloat Boston a rating of four anchors out of five. I think much of my good vibes had to do with the perfect weather and the views, but I also loved the feeling of adventure and the way the water rocked me to sleep. That’s a feature you can’t find at any other B&B in the city.
28 Constitution Road, www.bedandbreakfastafloat.com. 617-241-9640.
Christopher Muther can be reached at christopher.muther@globe.com. Follow him @Chris_Muther and Instagram @chris_muther.
Pittsburg, PA
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Connecticut is taking a step to make sure workers are paid fairly.
On June 30, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 26-17, which enables the State Comptroller to issue a stop work order and withhold state funds to contractors that are not properly paying their employees.
The bill was signed on the construction site for Greeneville Elementary School, which is one of the four new elementary schools being built in Norwich. The State of Connecticut is reimbursing the city for 80% of the project, and the law applies to “any place where the state is making a payment,” Lamont said.
Wage theft can take many forms
It matters because wage theft can take many forms, from money taken from base pay, to money not given in benefits, Kimberly Glassman, director of compliance and government affairs for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, said.
Local 478 also has a presence in the Norwich school building project, with 10 to 20 union members working at each site daily, Glassman said.
What do state leaders think of the Greeneville site’s progress?
Lamont is impressed with how quickly the work is going.
“They told me that the walls went up in the last two weeks, so a lot of progress is happening,” he said.
During the bill signing, Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh touted the importance of using union labor and the value of project labor agreements.
“We are on time and on budget,” he said.
After the bill signing, Singh said its possible the Greeneville School building could be complete as soon as the first quarter of 2027, he said.
“They’re not wasting any time,” Singh said.
State Rep. Derrel Wilson attended the original Greeneville School as a kid, and still lives in Greeneville. He was credited as being one of the driving forces for getting the workers bill passed.
“It’s exciting seeing this revitalization for our neighborhood, seeing active construction and watching individuals rebuild our community,” Wilson said.
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