As the U.S. Air Force was dropping bombs on the mullahs in Iran this week, the U.S. Supreme Court released a ruling that put the cultural mullahs here at home on notice.
Parents and teachers in California sued the state over a policy requiring teachers to hide information from parents about their children’s efforts to socially transition their gender at school. Schools were required to keep parents in the dark unless the child gave permission to inform them. Remarkably, this policy applied even to elementary school students.
A federal district court ruled in favor of the parents and issued an injunction preventing schools from misleading parents about their children’s gender identity at school or their social transitioning efforts.
However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stepped in and stayed the injunction, allowing the state’s ideologically driven policy — one that effectively alienates parents from their children — to remain in effect.
The parents and teachers then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing in part on religious liberty grounds that the injunction should remain in place until the case is resolved.
Enough of the justices agreed and granted emergency relief, allowing the injunction against the policy to take effect while the case proceeds. The court noted that the parents are likely to succeed on the merits and that allowing the policy to remain in effect would cause irreparable harm to their rights.
To be clear, this was not the final ruling on the merits of the case. But it is an important signal that the parents’ claims are substantial and they could ultimately prevail.
But this case also exposes something larger: how far government has drifted from its proper role — and how destructive some modern policies have become to the family.
It is remarkable that the state of California argued that this policy served a compelling interest in student safety and privacy. Yet, as the court noted, such policies effectively cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents.
That observation brings us to the central issue. Who ultimately bears responsibility for the well-being and formation of children?
Citing a case from more than a century ago, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the long-standing precedent that parents — not the state — have the primary authority regarding the upbringing and education of their children.
The real question is how our society reached the point where states believe they have the authority to cut parents out of decisions that can permanently shape or, in some cases, end a child’s life.
On almost no other issue — except abortion — would such deliberate disregard for parental authority be tolerated. That tells us a lot.
At its core, this conflict reflects a deeper cultural departure from a biblical understanding of family and responsibility.
Scripture consistently places responsibility for a child’s instruction and formation on the parents. Proverbs 22:6 reminds us, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Parents may delegate aspects of their child’s education, but they can never delegate responsibility. God holds mothers and fathers accountable for the guidance and protection of their children.
That is why parents must remain informed, engaged, and willing to hold schools accountable.
Because in the end, it won’t be the system that lives with the consequences of these decisions.
It will be the parents.
