Parents in Massachusetts are suing a group of teachers and administrators alleging that the school committee violated their rights as parents by failing to disclose students’ gender identities.
A lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court by the Massachusetts Family Institute and the Child and Parental Rights Campaign on behalf of two sets of parents, who claim their children were encouraged by their teachers at Baird Middle School to adopt news and pronouns without parental consent.
The students were also told they could use the restroom or locker room that matches their gender identity, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit claims that the district’s policy affirming students’ gender identities violates both state and federal law.
According to the Boston Globe Magazine, the district allows students to change their names and pronouns, and school staff are barred from having private conversations with the parents’ children about their gender identities unless the child offers their consent.
In response to the lawsuit, Ludlow School Committee Chair James P. “Chip” Harrington assured parents that the district’s teachers and staff have only ever had their students’ best interests in mind.
“It’s a slippery slope,” Harrington said during an interview. “We want to support our students the best we can. But we should bring parents to the table, and hope they respond in a loving and supportive way as well.”
However, Massachusetts Family Institute President Andrew Beckwith, who is also serving as the parents’ attorney, said affirming a student’s identity does not align with the views of their teachers.
“This lawsuit is about protecting the right of parents to raise their children without the interference of government officials,” Beckwith told reporters. “By deliberately circumventing the authority of parents over the mental health and religious beliefs of their children, activists at the Ludlow schools are violating time-honored rights guaranteed under the US Constitution and the Massachusetts Constitution.”
This comes after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed House Bill 1557 or the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, which prohibits school staff from discussing sexuality with children third-grade age and under and restricts related topics with older children to age-appropriate instruction.
“As the parent of three kids that are aged 5 and under, thank you for letting me and my wife be able to send our kids to kindergarten without them being sexualized,” DeSantis told the legislature.
