Supreme Court Declines Parents' School Gender Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case brought by Massachusetts parents who accused their local school district of violating their constitutional rights by supporting their middle school child's social gender transition without their knowledge or consent. The decision, in Foote v. Ludlow School Committee, leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling that dismissed the parents' claims.

The dispute centers on Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri, whose child, identified in court documents as B.F., attended Baird Middle School in Ludlow, Massachusetts. The parents alleged that school officials encouraged B.F., then 11 years old, to question her gender identity and facilitated a social transition by allowing the use of a new name, nonbinary pronouns and access to bathrooms designated for boys, all without informing them. According to court filings, the child sent an email to school staff declaring herself genderqueer and requesting the changes, which teachers and counselors then implemented during school hours. However, when communicating with the parents, officials used B.F.'s legal name and female pronouns, concealing the school's actions.