ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August 21, 2025
CONTACT: Lori Sanada
media@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — Advocates for Faith & Freedom, in partnership with NC Values Institute, filed an amicus brief this week in the United States Supreme Court in support of the petitioners in Foote v. Ludlow School Committee, urging the Court to reverse a decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals that undermines fundamental parental rights.
The case involves Massachusetts parents whose two children were secretly socially transitioned by school officials without their knowledge or consent. The parents were not only excluded from the decision but were actively misled by the school. The amicus brief argues that such actions amount to an unconstitutional and de facto termination of parental rights.
“This case represents one of the most egregious violations of parental rights we’ve seen to date,” said Robert Tyler, President and Chief Counsel of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “When schools deliberately withhold life-altering information about a child from parents, it doesn’t just violate trust — it violates the Constitution.”
The joint brief emphasizes that parental rights are among the oldest and most deeply rooted liberty interests protected by the U.S. Constitution. Citing long-standing Supreme Court precedent, the amici argue that parents, not schools, possess the primary authority to make medical, educational, and moral decisions for their children — including those involving gender identity.
Julianne Fleischer, Senior Legal Counsel at Advocates for Faith & Freedom, added, “The right of parents to raise their children according to their values — including religious and moral beliefs — is not negotiable. Public schools cannot operate as secret-keepers against families.”
The brief also highlights the dangerous precedent set by the Ludlow School Committee’s “Protocol,” which directs school personnel to affirm a child’s request to socially transition — including name and pronoun changes — while keeping parents in the dark. The amici argue that such a policy compels speech, undermines religious liberty, and fails to meet even the most basic constitutional standards, including the requirement of strict scrutiny when fundamental rights are at stake.
You can read the full amicus brief here.
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Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.