LGBTQ students in New Hampshire are applauding the state’s Supreme Court ruling that upholds a Manchester School District policy on students’ pronoun preferences and respecting their privacy. The case was brought to court by an anonymous mother of a student in the Manchester School District. The plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, brought forth the case claiming that respecting pronouns and students’ rights to privacy had “infringed on her ability to properly parent her child,” according to LGBTQ Nation.
The court decided that Doe couldn’t prove that the school’s policy truly infringed upon a fundamental parenting right. The court wrote that the policy “does not prevent parents from observing their children’s behavior, moods, and activities; talking to their children; providing religious or other education to their children; choosing where their children live and go to school; obtaining medical care and counseling for their children; monitoring their children’s communications on social media; choosing with whom their children may socialize; and deciding what their children may do in their free time. In short, the policy places no limits on the plaintiff’s ability to parent her child as she sees fit.”
Parents and legislators around the country have raised issues with students expressing their sexuality and gender identity safely in schools. They have also attempted to pass laws and bring lawsuits against schools and individuals for simply being themselves in the education system. Schools around the country have also faced a great deal of censorship, with some of the most famous historical literary titles being banned from course curriculum, and teachers practically gagged when it comes to discussing gender identity and sexuality.
