Overview
- The Supreme Court, which declined the appeal Monday, left in place rulings that dismissed a suit by Ludlow, Massachusetts parents over how a school handled their child’s name and pronouns.
- The parents, Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri, said staff treated their child as nonbinary and kept that from them after the student asked in 2021 to use a new name and pronouns at school and to use the legal name with parents.
- The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said using a chosen name or pronouns is not medical treatment and found no due process right for parents to control such school decisions.
- The court’s refusal follows a March 2 order that blocked California limits on sharing gender-identity information with parents, and it previously turned away related challenges in Wisconsin and Maryland in 2024.
- CBS News reports a similar Florida dispute is pending at the high court, while the parents in the Massachusetts case are backed by Alliance Defending Freedom in a broader, state-by-state legal fight.