• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Digital News Updates
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business

Montana AG Leads 22-State Coalition Asking Supreme Court to Hear Parental Rights Case

August 25, 2025

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, along with 21 other state attorneys general, has filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case challenging a Massachusetts school district’s policy on student “social transitioning” without parental consent.

The case, Foote v. Ludlow School Committee, involves Ludlow Public Schools and parents Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri. The parents allege that the district allowed school staff to promote social transitioning for their two children—such as using new names and pronouns—without their knowledge or approval. According to the complaint, a school counselor held private discussions with the students and suggested they were unsafe with their parents.

Attorney General Knudsen’s brief contends that the First Circuit Court of Appeals erred when it upheld the lower court’s ruling in favor of the school in 2023. The brief argues that the court wrongly concluded that parental rights are diminished once children attend public schools and that schools may make decisions, including secret ones, without parental consent.

“Ludlow’s actions should trigger alarm bells. These secret acts, which contravened the parents’ express instructions, violated the constitutionally sacrosanct parent-child relationship,” Knudsen wrote. “Courts must evaluate whether a particular decision is rooted in parental or state power. The First Circuit’s conclusion that the decision to socially transition B.F. was well-grounded in state power was fundamentally wrong.”

The coalition’s brief emphasizes that parents have long-recognized constitutional rights to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children, and that schools are obligated to support—not override—parental decision-making. The attorneys general argue that policies like Ludlow’s set a precedent that could undermine parental authority and erode trust between families and schools.

States joining Montana in the brief include West Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and Guam.

The Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether it will take up the case.

By: Politics406 staff

Filed Under: Featured, Home Featured, Politics

Related Articles:

  • Nvidia’s Q3 2025 Earnings Report: Anticipating Continued Growth Amid AI Demand
  • Gianforte Highlights Montana–Kumamoto Partnership During Japan Trade Mission
  • Attorney General Jackley Joins Multistate Coalition Supporting Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration
  • Gianforte Appoints Cunningham, Zink as Thirteenth Judicial District Judges
  • Netflix Prepares to Report Q3 Earnings as Investors Focus on Growth and Ad Revenue
  • Senate President, State Superintendent Announce Legislation to End “Woke” Teacher Conferences

Primary Sidebar

— Advertisement —

Digital News Updates Logo

Recent News Posts

  • Angel Match Program Invests $460,000 in Ag Tech and Housing Startups in Q3
  • Pulitzer-Prize Nominated Authors to Host Veterans Day Tribute in Bozeman
  • UM Awarded $1.2M Grant to Launch Rural Youth Behavioral Health Career Pathways
  • TEDx event at Montana State University set for Nov. 5

Recent Politics Posts

  • Senate President, State Superintendent Announce Legislation to End “Woke” Teacher Conferences
  • Sheehy Hosts Common Ground Summit to Address Challenges in Agriculture
  • Attorney General Jackley Joins Multistate Coalition Supporting Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration
  • Gianforte Appoints Cunningham, Zink as Thirteenth Judicial District Judges

Recent Business Posts

  • Nvidia’s Q3 2025 Earnings Report: Anticipating Continued Growth Amid AI Demand
  • Stock Market Reaches Record Highs Amid Soft Inflation Data and Strong Earnings
  • Alphabet Inc. Set to Report Q3 2025 Earnings Amid Strong Growth in Cloud and AI
  • Apple Prepares to Release Q4 2025 Earnings Amid Strong iPhone 17 Sales

Copyright © 2025 Digital News Updates, All Rights Reserved.