“Parent Free Zones” Coming To A State Near You?

Due to a recent ruling by a federal court, schools in Massachusetts have been given the green light to withhold information from parents about their children – for now.

The case in question concerns Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri, the parents of a middle schooler who changed their gender identity and name whilst at school.

Writing to the school, the child’s parents stated that their daughter was gender-confused and receiving care from a professional and how no one was to communicate with their daughter about what she was going through.

The school was informed by the child, however, that she was “genderqueer” and that she didn’t want her parents to know about it.

School officials started referring to the child with her preferred name and gender identity, yet deceptively used her given name when in communication with her parents.

Disturbingly, the school asked the child if she believed “appropriate care” was being given to her or if she felt comfortable to talk issues through with the professional her parents had set her up with.

Again, these conversations didn’t happen in front of the child’s parents, but behind closed doors with the child and with no consent given by the parents.

As a result, in 2022, the parents filed a federal lawsuit against the school with allegations of how the school violated their due process rights under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

Fast forward to today and the judges involved in the case ruled that whilst parents do have a fundamental right to information about their children, such right have limitations.

Seeking to reverse the ruling, the parents are hoping to take their case before the Supreme Court.

Representing the parents, Vernadette Ramirez Broyles who serves as president and General Counsel for the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, said that she is considering asking the Supreme Court to intervene as the 1st Circuit Court “wrongly apprehended the fundamental parental right at issue.”

Perspective

This case is riddled with more issues than one could even begin to think through.

First off, from a Biblical perspective, we must always recognize that God gives children to a mother and father and not to a government or school system run by the government.

This alone gives us a clear understanding of whom the mandate falls upon for the care and instruction of children and this is on the parents, for they alone have the direct authority and responsibility over their children’s lives and not the government. This means that what parents dictate as acceptable for their children is what the government should recognize and not undermine.

Secondly, we know that the Bible emphasizes the importance of parents’ responsibility in raising their children, giving them the authority and duty to guide, discipline, and nurture.

In Ephesians 6:4, Paul instructs fathers not to provoke their children to anger but to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. This verse reflects the balance of parental authority, where parents are given the right to guide their children but also the responsibility to do so with love, patience, and care.

Proverbs 22:6 further reinforces this, saying, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it,” highlighting the lasting influence that parents have in shaping their children’s faith and moral values.

The parents involved in this case clearly recognized that their child was in a vulnerable moment in their life and chose the path most appropriate for their child in that moment. This was a time for the school to support the parents, but as we can see, they chose to actively work against this family.

Lastly, the Bible portrays the family unit as a foundational institution designed to reflect God’s order and care.

In Deuteronomy 6:6-7, it is written, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

This passage underscores the parental responsibility to raise children in the knowledge of God and His commandments, positioning parents as the primary educators and spiritual leaders in their children’s lives.

The Biblical stance on parental rights includes the responsibility to nurture the next generation in both faith and wisdom, while also guiding them in accordance with God’s will.

In conclusion…

Regardless of the situation you and your family find yourselves in today, whether you’re fighting a battle similar to the parents in this article or there is a struggle with your child in other ways – we can rest assured that we have been given all the instruction needed to navigate this life well.

Whether you live in a culture gone woke or in a society saturated by sin – God has given us His Word which can lead us and our families into all truth and freedom if we choose to take ahold of it.

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