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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) released a new template letter for parents and guardians to use in exercising their right to parent their children in accordance with their family values. This letter puts schools on notice that parents will inspect and opt out of any instruction or school social experiments that expose their children to radical ideologies that conflict with the rights of parents to make decisions about their child’s healthcare, education, and religious instruction.
The template letter serves as a guide for parents to assert their rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which held that public schools violate religious liberty when they compel children to participate in instruction on radical gender ideology against their families’ faith—without notice or an opportunity to opt out. AFL is proud to have stood up for parental rights in that case, filing a brief in support of America’s parents.
But AFL’s commitment to parent and student rights extends well beyond the courtroom. That is why AFL launched the Parent and Student Action Center to equip families with toolkits, sample letters, and clear guidance to defend parents’ rights and safeguard their children’s education. Today, AFL is adding resources to this Center in light of the victorious outcome earlier this year.
AFL’s new template letter provides parents with a simple way to assert their rights and protect their children. AFL’s letter enables families to:
Demand notice and an opportunity to opt out of instruction or activities involving gender identity, gender-affirming care, sexual preferences, LGBTQ-related matters, and related topics. Demand notice of their child’s use of opposite-sex bathrooms/locker rooms and preferred names and pronouns that differ from the child’s record. Demand notice when a member of the opposite sex is using the same bathroom or locker room as the parents’ child.
This template letter also allows parents to exercise their rights under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), which requires schools to provide parents with notice, access to materials, and an opportunity to opt out before soliciting information about a student’s mental health, sexual behavior, or attitudes, and political beliefs. Finally, the letter reminds schools that failing to honor these requests violates the Constitution and federal law.
“Schools do not raise children—parents do,” said Gene Hamilton, President of America First Legal. “This resource makes clear that schools answer to parents, not the other way around. The Constitution protects that relationship, and we will ensure no bureaucracy or activist agenda can undermine it.”
“Parents, not the government, have a constitutional and statutory right to decide how and when their children learn about deeply sensitive topics like gender and sexuality,” said Ian Prior, Senior Counsel for America First Legal. “This letter gives families the tools to assert their rights, protect their faith, and hold schools accountable under the law.”
AFL will continue its fight to protect parents and schoolchildren from radical ideology in the classroom.
Download the template letter here.
View all of AFL’s resources for parents here.
Learn more about AFL’s work to protect parents’ rights here.
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