Parents have a right to know what their children are being taught and what they are being asked. That was the second major theme of the Alliance Defending Freedom parental-rights forum I covered in Part 1, and it reaches every family with a child in school.
Start with curriculum. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court recognized that parents with religious objections are entitled to notice and a meaningful opportunity to opt their children out of certain instruction. The speakers also raised a related First Amendment question: whether a student can be compelled to use preferred names or pronouns when doing so conflicts with the student’s religious beliefs. ADF described pending matters involving a Washington father who was allegedly denied an opt-out from LGBTQ-related instruction and a homeschooling mother who was allegedly penalized for using religious teaching materials.
Some schools have found a new way to keep parents in the dark: copyright. In Stovall v. Jefferson County, a mother asked for a copy of a survey her child had been given. The district refused, claiming a third-party vendor held the copyright. The Southeastern Legal Foundation argued that giving a parent a copy is plainly fair use. The federal courts sent the dispute to state court as an open-records matter, and the Supreme Court denied review. A parent should never need a lawsuit to see what her own child was asked to answer.
Mental-health screening raises the same concern. Illinois will require schools to offer mental-health screening for students in grades 3 through 12, with student data potentially shared across several state agencies. Advocates at the forum urged an opt-in-only model policy. Silence should not be treated as a parent’s consent.
ADF identified Florida and Iowa as key states and is supporting legislation that would prevent religious charter schools from being categorically excluded from charter programs, relying on Supreme Court precedent that religious organizations may not be shut out of generally available public benefits. Asked about Islamic charter schools, the speakers responded that the same protections apply to every faith and that all charter schools remain subject to federal law and state oversight.
Taken together, these efforts form a coordinated strategy: federal legislation, Title IX complaints, constitutional litigation, state model bills, and local school-board policies, all aimed at one goal. Parents, not institutions, should direct their children’s upbringing and education.
At The Michael Brady Lynch Firm, we support transparency. Please feel free to reach out to us at 888-585-5970.
Brandon Salter
Editor-in-Chief