Seventh Circuit Says Parent Group Lacks Standing to Challenge School Guidelines for LGBTQ Students

The Seventh Circuit ruled last week that a parent organization lacked standing to challenge a school district's "guidelines" for schools to follow "to address the needs of transgender, nonbinary, and/or gender non-conforming students." The court said that the plaintiff organization simply hadn't alleged that its members were harmed.

The case, Parents Protecting Our Children, UA v. Eau Claire Area School District, arose when Parents Protecting lodged a facial challenge to the District's brand-new policy to "foster inclusive and welcoming environments that are free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression." The District issued "Administrative Guidance" for schools to follow and a "Gender Support Plan," both of which recognize that there are circumstances where "parents are not involved." Still, by its terms, the Plan is a student record, and a parent can gain access upon request.

Parents Protecting argued that the Guidance and Plan violated its members' rights to due process and free exercise. But their pre-enforcement, facial challenge failed to identify a particular harm to members.

As a result, the Seventh Circuit said that the group lacked standing, and dismissed the case.

The ruling contrasts with a ruling just today from the Fifth Circuit, where the court held that a parent had standing to challenge federal law that prohibited federal contraception grant recipients from informing parents of a minor that the minor sought contraception. The parent in that case also didn't allege that the policy resulted in actual services in violation of their rights, yet the Fifth Circuit nevertheless said that the parent had standing.