Whose Parents’ Rights?: A Case Study of One District’s Response to an Unsuccessful ‘Parent’s Rights’ Legal Challenge

• In Event: Queer and Trans Activism, Resistance, Remedy, and Repair in Tough Times: “We’re Still Fucking Here”

Abstract

Purpose
While legal challenges have often been unsuccessful in challenging the rights of transgender and nonbinary (TNB) students (Eckes, 2017; 2023), districts continue to acquiesce to conservative anti-TNB activists. Yet, schools can provide critical, life-saving support for TNB students (Kosciw et al., 2022; Meyer, 2019). This paper examines how an urban district in a politically contested Midwestern state negotiated social and legal challenges to restrict its support for TNB students through procedural guidance, LGBTQ+-inclusivity programming, and educator coaching.

Background
Loring Park School District (LPSD) has embedded LGBTQ+-inclusivity training in professional development since 2014. Analysis from an earlier research-practice partnership indicated LPSD’s comprehensive LGBTQ+-inclusivity programs positively impacted student behavior and increased demand for gender and sexual diversity training (AUTHOR et al., 2020).

In 2020, a conservative advocacy organization sued LPSD over specific instructions in its guidance concerning TNB students and “parents’ rights”. Advocates for “parents’ rights” use rhetoric of distraction (Mayo, 2021; Farley & Leonardi, 2021) and erasure (Author et al., 2024). Such debate can have a chilling effect on educators’ actions to support all students (Rodriguez et al., 2023). Our discussion draws from legal perspectives on policy’s capacity to protect marginalized students (Lewis & Kern, 2018).

Data & Methods
The single-district case study uses multiple sources of longitudinal data from 2014 - 2024, including administrative data tracking the number of 1) district professional development sessions for educators, 2) student name and gender marker change requests, and 3) student-level school climate data. We present descriptive and trend analysis to identify changes in administrative and student-level patterns before, during, and after the 2020 lawsuit.

Results & Significance
Initial results suggest two competing trends amidst the anti-TNB legal challenge. First, this challenge produced a “chilling” effect on district TNB-inclusivity supports, including turnover in administrators responsible for LGBTQ+-inclusivity. Between 2020 and 2023, LPSD offered fewer and eventually halted LGBTQ+-inclusivity professional development sessions (Figure 1). These results reveal how legal actions affect the implementation of educational policies and practices, potentially leading to a "chilling effect" on inclusivity initiatives.

Conversely, LGBTQ+-inclusive professional development resumed after the legal resolution (Figure 1) and LPSD received increasing requests for student name and gender changes (Figure 2). Requests for student name and pronoun changes quadrupled between 2019 (n=60) and 2022 (n=237). This sustained increase indicates that legal pressure did not dampen the insistence of TNB-supportive parents and TNB students for inclusive support from the district.

Since 2020, anti-trans state bills and legal challenges have burgeoned (AUTHORS et al., 2024), threatening schools’ ability to provide LGBTQ+-inclusive support. School leaders should be prepared to withstand pressure to erase TNB students, representation, and discussions about gender. By illustrating how anti-trans lawsuits disrupt district support services and demonstrating how different community groups resist this disruption, we better understand the role of policies, pedagogies, and practices in sustaining equitable, healthy education communities. This case study contributes to research exploring strategies for supporting TNB students amidst external challenges, ensuring educational leaders are equipped to uphold inclusivity and protect student rights under complex legal and social pressures.

Authors

• Mollie McQuillan, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Benjamin Lebovitz, University of Wisconsin - Madison