Supreme Court conservatives decry case as 'troubling and tragic' — before dismissing it

The Donald Trump-allied group America First Legal was denied review of a civil case that alleged staff at a Colorado school failed to inform parents about an optional after-school club meeting — and the speakers and discussions it involved.

SCOTUS Blog describes the case as having to do with "whether a school district may discard the presumption that fit parents act in the best interests of their children and arrogate to itself the right to direct the care, custody, and control of their children."

Colorado Newsline reported that the case began with the parents of a 12-year-old student, who they claim was invited to an after-school meeting of the Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA). A speaker at the meeting is said to have warned students that it might not be safe to tell their parents if they were questioning their gender or orientation.

The student announced herself as transgender at the meeting, told her parents and they disenrolled the student. Another student reportedly had a similar experience and the parents in that case also disenrolled their child.

A lower court dismissed the civil case brought by the parents in Dec. 2023.

America First Legal argues that the 14th Amendment gives parents the absolute authority to oversee the child care and education of their children.

However, lawyers for the school district say that the 14th Amendment does not require schools to inform parents about topics discussed in voluntary extracurricular clubs after school.

Politico senior legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein posted a portion of a statement from Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch, who called the underlying incident "troubling" and "tragic."

The judges' opinion alleges that the school assisted in the process of a child transitioning genders.

"Petitioners do not challenge the ground for the ruling below. But I remain concerned that some federal courts are 'tempt[ed]' to avoid confronting a 'particularly contentious constitutional questio[n]': 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," the ruling stated.