ADF Releases Guide to Protecting the Rights of Your Child at School

The Alliance Defending Freedom organization has released a guide for parents and guardians regarding the rights of children in public schools. Sharon Supp, legal counsel for ADF says parents, not schools, have the final say in their child’s upbringing. “While it may seem overwhelming,” ADF says of the guide, “there are many practical tools parents can use to ensure that schools recognize and respect their parental authority.”

For over 100 years, courts across the US have ruled that parents have the ultimate authority when it comes to their children. “In some cases, parents have been surprised by lessons or policies they were never informed about, which raised real concern for their families,” Supp says. “But the Courts are beginning to change that imbalance, restoring a more appropriate decision-making role for parents in their children’s education.”

Here are some important points, says Supp, of which parents need to be aware.

How parental rights are undermined in education today

1. Curriculum Introduced Without Notice – Parents sometimes learn about controversial lessons or books only after their child has already been exposed to them, including material involving sensitive topics like gender and sexuality. A recent Supreme Court case from 2025, Mahmoud v. Taylor, strengthened parents’ ability—when religious beliefs are implicated—to ask questions, request notice, seek opt-outs from certain materials, and expect transparency from public schools.
2. Social Transition Without Parental Consent – Some schools secretly facilitate a student’s social transition to a new “gender identity” by using opposite-sex names and pronouns at school and then withholding this critical information from their parents. A 2026 Supreme Court opinion in Mirabelli v. Bonta held that such policies “likely violate parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children.” Applying Mahmoud and other landmark cases like Meyer v. Nebraska and Parham v. J.R., the court found such policies were an “intrusion” on parents’ free-exercise rights and that parents’ fundamental rights “include the right not to be shut out of participation in decisions regarding their children’s mental health.”
3. Student Surveys That Go Too Far – Some schools administer surveys that ask students about sexuality and gender identity, mental health and thoughts of self-harm, political and religious beliefs, or other deeply personal matters — sometimes without first obtaining required parental consent. Federal law requires schools to notify parents and obtain consent before asking certain sensitive questions, yet families are not always made aware. These surveys are often digital, making them difficult for parents to review and raising concerns about how responses are stored or shared.

Access to curriculum

How parents can protect their rights at school

Parents have a legal right to understand what their children are being taught, although access and opt-out procedures vary by state, district and subject matter.

Parents should ask to review all materials used in the classroom, including books, lesson plans, videos, online resources, surveys, assemblies and teacher-created content. Curriculum includes more than textbooks. It covers anything used to teach or influence a student.

Requests should be submitted in writing and renewed each school year. Because materials can change during the year, parents also should request continuing access and advance notice before students encounter sensitive subjects involving sexuality, gender identity, religion, personal values or mental health. The same applies to surveys that ask personal questions.

Where opt-outs are available, requests should identify the specific lesson, activity, book, survey or material from which the child is to be excused. Parents should explain briefly if the objection is based on religious, moral, ethical or other sincerely held beliefs.

Each request should:

• Identify the academic year.
• Ask that it be placed in the student’s permanent record.
• Direct the school to notify teachers and administrators.
• Request notice of new or supplemental materials.
• Ask that alternative instruction be provided when appropriate.

Parents concerned about social transitioning also may submit written instructions stating that the school should not change their child’s name or pronouns, or otherwise socially transition the child, without parental knowledge and consent. They may raise privacy and safety concerns about restrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations.

Keep copies of every request and response. Written records can become important if a disagreement arises.

Legal help may be necessary when a school refuses reasonable access to instructional materials, disregards requests for notice or conceals information about a child’s physical or mental well-being.

Michigan parents Dan and Jennifer Mead, for example, alleged that school employees treated their daughter as a boy while using her given name and female pronouns in communications with them. After discovering the district’s actions, they removed their daughter from the school. Alliance Defending Freedom later filed a lawsuit on their behalf.

Schools should work in partnership with families, not exclude them from consequential decisions. Parental rights are not favors granted by a school.

Parents know and love their children best. Schools should work in partnership with families, not exclude them from consequential decisions. Parental rights are not favors granted by a school.

“Parental rights are not a courtesy extended by the school when it’s convenien,” says Supp. “They are constitutionally protected rights to be recognized and respected by schools as they partner with parents in the education of their children.”

Sharon Supp serves as legal counsel in the Center for Parental Rights at Alliance Defending Freedom. She focuses on parental rights and advocacy strategy, including developing and implementing strategic initiatives designed to promote and preserve parents’ fundamental right to direct their children’s upbringing, education, and healthcare through litigation, legislation, communication, and public relations.

–Metro Voice