The Wisconsin Supreme Court will rule on a lawsuit against the Madison Metropolitan School District for a policy that does not tell parents if a transgender student chooses to use a different name at school.
The suit, brought by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), argues it is a parental right to be informed and make important healthcare decisions in their child’s life.
The Court granted a petition for review, allowing the judicial branch to review the policy that allows “children of any age can transition to a different gender identity at school, by changing their name and pronouns, without parental notice or consent” and details that staff members are “prohibited from notifying parents,” according to WILL.
“We are pleased the Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear this important case. The Madison Metropolitan School District cannot make decisions reserved for parents,” said WILL Deputy Counsel Luke Berg.
The lawsuit was originally filed in February 2020, despite the fact the policy was introduced in April 2018. In September 2020, Circuit Court Judge Frank Remington issued an injunction against the portion of the measure that hid the policy from parents, if they asked.
The ruling stopped a policy that “requires District staff to conceal information or to answer untruthfully in response to any question that parents ask about their child at school, including information about the name and pronouns being used to address their child at school.”
However, the ruling does not require the schools to inform the parents or prevent the transition from happening. The school system distributed a letter in October 2021 reaffirming the policy.
“School policies that exclude parents from children’s gender identity decisions are harming children across the country. We are hopeful that the Wisconsin Supreme Court will take the lead in protecting a parent’s right to be a parent,” added ADF counsel Kate Anderson.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Wisconsin Supreme Court Chambers” by Royalbroil CC BY-SA 3.0.
