We have been discussing the efforts of school officials around the country to block information for parents on their children changing their gender in public schools, including a recent victory for parents in Michigan. I have long been a critic of such attacks on parental rights in our schools. Now, parents have another major victory in California from District Court Judge Roger Benitez, who offered a resounding ruling in support of the inherent rights of all parents. However, public school boards, administrators, and teachers’ unions are continuing the right to bar parents from knowing about gender changes in their children. Nevertheless, it is a great way to end this year for everyone who values family and parental rights.
The court cuts straight to the point in the opinion:
“With these longstanding principles in mind, this case presents the following four questions about a parent’s rights to information as against a public school’s policy of secrecy when it comes to a student’s gender identification. First, do parents have a right to gender information based on the Fourteenth Amendment’s substantive due process clause? Second, do parents have a right to gender information protected by the First Amendment’s free exercise of religion clause? Third, do religious public school teachers have a right to provide gender information to parents based on the First Amendment’s free exercise clause? Fourth, do public school teachers have a right to communicate accurate gender information to parents based on the First Amendment free speech clause? In each case, this Court concludes that, as a matter of law, the answer is “yes.” Parents have a right to receive gender information and teachers have a right to provide to parents accurate information about a child’s gender identity.”
Judge Benitez relies on a quote that we have previously discussed from Troxel v. Granville (2000): “It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder.” The Supreme Court has repeatedly cited such parental rights, but school officials and teachers’ unions have been unrelenting in curtailing or denying such rights.
That view was captured in the comment of Iowa school board member Rachel Wall, who said: “The purpose of a public ed is to not teach kids what the parents want. It is to teach them what society needs them to know. The client is not the parent, but the community.”
State Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Wis.) tweeted: “If parents want to ‘have a say’ in their child’s education, they should home school or pay for private school tuition out of their family budget.”
Parents who question unpopular policies are often treated as extremists.
Michelle Leete, vice president of training at the Virginia PTA and vice president of communications for the Fairfax County PTA, said parents would not force them to reverse their agenda: “Let them die. Don’t let these uncomfortable people deter us from our bold march forward.”
I particularly like this paragraph from Judge Benitez’s decision:
“The State Defendants mix up legal constructs. The Attorney General on behalf of the State of California says Plaintiffs’ lawsuit is “properly understood as seeking a federal constitutional exemption from the California constitutional right to privacy, as applied to gender identity in the school context.” State Defs’ Oppo to Plaintiffs’ MSJ, Dkt 256, at 9. But the Attorney General gets it upside down. Plaintiffs do not ask the State to magnanimously permit a sort of federal constitutional exemption. What Plaintiffs seek is to force the State to respect their enduring federal constitutional rights as citizens of the United States.”
Bravo, Judge Benitez, Bravo.
Here is the decision: Mirabelli v. Olson
Gavin and his Groomers are not happy.
Not happy? About what?
You!
Do Parents Know Best?
Iowa school board member Rachel Wall said: “The purpose of a public ed is to not teach kids what the parents want. It is to teach them what society needs them to know.”
……………………………………
Ms Wall makes a compelling argument here. Baptist parents might want schools to teach ‘creationist science’. But no self-respecting science teacher would cater to such nonsense. Trumper parents might demand that students be taught that the 2020 election was ‘rigged’. Far-left parents might want kids to learn that White people oppressed everyone else.
There’s a reason public schools are unionized. Teaching is often subject to political winds coming from every direction.
Whatever you don’t want taught we teach is the translation of babble
ATS – it is irrelevant whether “Parents know best”.
What is relevant is as Turley cites
“It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder.”
The state has no rights with respect to children.
Charles Manson is what you get when the state raises children.
There are good parents and bad parents and most fall between.
But the state is not and has never been a “good parent”. Nor have teachers – unionized or not.
Nor do I give a flying f#$K about so called political influences on Teachers.
The ONLY relevant influence on Teachers is PARENTS.
I am with State Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Wis.) to a point “If parents want to ‘have a say’ in their child’s education, they should home school or private school.”
However if parents are obligated to pay taxes for schools – then if they choose not to send their kids to public schools they should be freed to spend that public education money on whatever education they chose.
Or we should just get govenrment out of education, healthcare and all the other things they have screwed up.
Please name anything that government is involved with that is not poorer quality and more expensive over time ?
Name anything that govenrment has little involvement in that is not cheaper and better over time ?
Communist always want full control of the children so they can indoctrinate and brainwash them. Hillary’s book ‘It Takes a Village’ is about the how the government is the village. Communism always fails, which is why they always want to have total control.
Who decides what “what society needs them to know.”?
Pedophile sex organ butchers? Or parents?
“Ms Wall makes a compelling argument here.”
Sure. If you’re a collectivist whose premise is: Your children are property of the omnipotent State. Sit down and shut up.
The Hitler Youth is supposed to be an ominous warning. Not a blueprint.
Freedom of Education – 9th Amendment
The Constitution and Bill of Rights Provide Natural and God-given Rights and Freedoms
Free Americans Shall Not Be Compelled Into Miseducation
California public schools are unconstitutional.
The Constitution most certainly allows Americans the freedom to pursue the education they want for their children.
California’s public schools unconstitutionally deny the freedom of enterprise and the free education market of the private sector to American consumers.
California must allow Americans the freedom of education.
California’s public schools unconstitutionally compel the purchase of the defective product of anti-Americans, radical unionists, and antithetical communists.
Where the —- is the Supreme Court?
There is no justice and nothing rationally judicial in California.
California is the personification of the “dictatorship of the proletariat” (i.e. hired help).
Hello fellow Americans
Do you remember what happened under Obama and Biden? Do you remember the transsexual boy molesting and raping a girl in a Virginia school? Do you remember the school refusing to assist the parents in prosecuting the kid transferring him elsewhere to do it again? Do you remember the AG Garland writing memos to have the FBI target parents at school board meetings? Do you remember that idiot MayDork ass opening the border and flooding us with the worlds trash? 100,000 dead from fentanyl and our Cities turned into shooting galleries? Do you remember abandoning our ambassador in Libya to his death then lying their asses off about it, arresting a film maker to support their lies?
This is their platform, this is not in our best interest.
These are just a few things that come to mind, Trump may be a bit of an ass but he’s got our back and he’s American first ass!
Merry Christmas hold fast!
True, anon.
Ha HA HA . this is funny. was posted yesterday
TO ALL FROM LIN.
‘Twas the night before Congress and all through the House,
not a creature was stirring, not even Anonymous.
The House Bills were pending, all hanging with care,
in hopes that St. Hakeem would get them outta there.
The ‘children’ on this blog were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of “likes” and upvotes danced in their heads;
And Melania in her gown and Trump still on his app,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
Trump sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window he flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to his wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny mutineers,
With a little old driver, so lively a scheme!
Trump knew in a moment it must be Hakeem.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, GOLDMAN and SWALWELL and LOFGREN and CROCKETT!
“Now, WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ and OMAR and PLASKETT!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
But Trump was too smart, a right jolly old elf,
And he laughed when he saw them, in spite of himself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave them to know they had plenty to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled up their stockings with E.O.s and smirk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, —all their Bills he froze.
He sprang to his own Sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
Bondi and Blanche and Wiles and Bessent,
and Patel and Leavitt, who knows where they went!
But I heard Trump exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!
Scotus..Alito makes a better argument.
It appears to be another fly by night opinion perhaps for 2 guards having been shot and in such case the regular military is a better choice.
“…unable ..regular forces ” unable isn’t defined it’s open. He’s unable for x,y or z. Whenever unable doesn’t mean authority.
The invasion and insurrection arguments unsaid also. Alito and Thomas are wise to say it needs fleshing out and take the case.
Whenever unable and regular forces is a pretty big authority and does not indicate authority is in question.
Hire 50 thousand ICE agents or move to army reserves. 2 NGs shot is sufficient. Maybe Illinois can have the NG fighting AR?
That alone calls authority and common sense
Gorsuch, Alito and Thomas dissent.
The decision is absurd. Live it up Chicago–> shoot ICE anytime. While you’re at it shoot any gov official. Hey Minnesota, shoot the auditers. There’s no federal law in Illinois. Go for it Gavin.
Georgia, JFK , RFK, KFC were wrong- segregation is back. Yippee!
What asses
In a better time, people sexually grooming children, especially children not their own, would be found hanging from a majestic oak. The Left is insane, deserve no quarter, no mercy, they are a cancer on our nation.
It’s natural for most earth creatures to want to nurture, teach and guide their own children and be defensive of that natural right.
Just another example of how communism goes against the natural order of man. Inhuman ideology.
Once again people claim a religious right to abuse children.
Give the names of the victims in the Epstein case to Allah 😂.
So true, people like the wholly unconstitutional communist teachers unions who intellectually abuse and molest actual American children with liberalism and communism while disparaging and belittling them and their magnificent and noble actual American history.
Abuse? Where did you get that claim from? Certainly can’t be found in the opinion.