New Hampshire Supreme Court Upholds District Policy Allowing Educators to Hide Transgender Status of Students from their Parents
The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled on Friday to uphold a Manchester School District policy that instructs school officials not to inform parents if their child identifies as transgender. The decision affirms a lower court ruling that had previously dismissed a lawsuit challenging the policy.
The policy in question states that school personnel “should not disclose information that may reveal a student’s transgender status or gender non-confirming presentation to others unless legally required to do so or unless the student has authorized such disclosure.” In 2022, a mother in the district filed a lawsuit, arguing that the policy infringes on her parental rights by preventing her from being informed about her child’s so-called gender identity.
However, in a 3-1 decision, the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the previous ruling from a lower court that dismissed the lawsuit. Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, writing for the majority, stated, “By its terms, the policy does not directly implicate a parent’s ability to raise and care for his or her child,” Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald wrote in the decision.
“We cannot conclude that any interference with parental rights which may result from non-disclosure is of constitutional dimension,” the decision stated.
The mother who filed the lawsuit discovered that her child had requested school officials to use a name associated with the opposite sex. When she learned of this, she asked the school’s faculty to refer to her child by their birth name and pronouns corresponding to their biological sex. However, the school principal informed her that the staff was “held by the district policy” and could not “disclose a student’s choice to parents if asked not to.”
In her dissenting opinion, Justice Melissa Beth Conway argued that “accurate information in response to parents’ inquiries about a child’s expressed gender identity is imperative to the parents’ ability to assist and guide their child.”
Following the decision, the Manchester School District praised the ruling. According to a press release obtained by the Daily Caller, the district stated that the superintendent and district leadership are pleased with the court’s decision to uphold the policy.
