Supreme Court declines to hear Colorado parents’ case on school gender-identity secrecy

The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up Lee v. Poudre School District R-1, leaving in place a lower court ruling that dismissed a Colorado parents’ lawsuit against their local school district.

The parents had alleged that district policies interfered with their constitutional right to make decisions for their own children, specifically by concealing information related to their child’s gender identity.

The parents said the district’s practices “exclude parents from the conversation of their child’s gender identity by actively discouraging disclosure” and by “sowing doubt in the minds of students regarding the trustworthiness of their parents.” Among the examples cited were after-school groups where children were instructed not to tell their parents what was discussed, and staff directives to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns at school but revert to the child’s legal name and pronouns when communicating with parents.

“This secrecy and concealment toward parents whose children discuss topics related to gender identity at school creates division within the parent-child relationship and undermines the trust essential to a family’s foundation,” the parents argued.

A federal district court ruled in favor of the school district, finding that the parents had not proven the existence of an official policy that directly caused their alleged harm. The 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld that ruling, and the Supreme Court has now declined to intervene.

Three justices signaled serious concern with what the case represents. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, agreed with the Court’s procedural decision to deny review, but warned that the issue strikes at the heart of parental rights in America.

“I remain concerned that some federal courts are tempted to avoid confronting a particularly contentious constitutional question: whether a school district violates parents’ fundamental rights when, without parental knowledge or consent, it encourages a student to transition to a new gender or assists in that process,” Alito wrote, adding that the “troubling – and tragic – allegations in this case underscore the great and growing national importance” of the issue.

The Court’s refusal to take the case leaves parents across the country with little recourse when schools adopt gender-identity policies that sideline families from deeply personal decisions about their children. With more districts adopting similar practices – often under the radar – this case stands as a warning: what happened in Colorado could happen anywhere.

For parents, the ruling means that, for now, schools may continue to implement gender-identity guidance without informing families, and courts may remain reluctant to step in.