Parental rights movement
[1][2][3] One of the aims of the movement is to prevent schools from using the preferred pronouns or chosen names of transgender and non-binary youth without disclosing to, or gaining permission from parents.
Prompted by protests after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, schools increasingly added antiracist texts to their curricula and diversity, equity, and inclusion measures to their policies and practices.
Advocacy from the parental rights movement led to a backlash against those trends, and a wave of laws and regulations—often codified as anti-critical race theory rules—were passed in 2021.
Legal scholar LaToya Baldwin Clark connects the 2020s activism to historical backlash from White parents to "contestations over race" like desegregation.
[16] Groups have suggested that similar ideas by parental rights advocates, which have worked to restrict education on sex or sexuality, date back to the 1990s.
[20] As of 2023, 20 states have had their legislatures introduce derivative bills of the Parental Rights in Education Act, including Arizona,[21] Georgia,[22] Iowa,[23][24] Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan,[25] Missouri,[26] Ohio,[27] Oklahoma,[28] Tennessee, and South Carolina.
[37] In response, the Christian conservative activist Faytene Grasseschi started a campaign called "Don't Delete Parents", encouraging people to sign a petition in support of Higgs, to pledge support for "pro-parent" political candidates, and to promote the idea that tax dollars should "follow the family" if parents chose to withdraw their children from the public school system in favour of homeschooling or private schools.
[38][39] In the same year, Saskatchewan also introduced a policy requiring parental consent for children who wished to change their names or pronouns in school and placing restrictions on sexual health education.
[4][44] In the lead-up to the 2023 Manitoba general election in October 2023, the Progressive Conservative Party led by Heather Stefanson promised expanded parental rights in schools.
In Canada, opponents such as Marci Ien, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, has said that requiring parental consent to use different names or preferred pronouns places trans children in a "life or death situation.
[8][10][61][62] Such policies have garnered significant concern due to the claimed potential for adverse consequences, including emotional distress, harm to mental well-being, and life-threatening situations for those affected, and can exacerbate issues such as depression, anxiety, and self-esteem problems.
By prioritizing parental rights over a child's autonomy, these policies may inadvertently discourage open and honest communication within families, hindering the ability of LGBT youth to seek support or understanding from their loved ones.
