Glossary

Parental rights

The principle that parents hold primary authority over the upbringing, education and health decisions of their children, a recurring issue in schools.

Also called: parents' rights, parental rights movement, parents' bill of rights

Parental rights are the legal and moral authority of parents to direct the upbringing, education and medical care of their children. The Supreme Court recognized this liberty interest under the Fourteenth Amendment in Meyer v. Nebraska (1923), Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), which struck down a state law requiring public-school attendance, Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) and Troxel v. Granville (2000).

The rights are not unlimited: the state has authority to protect children from abuse and neglect, mandate education and vaccination and regulate in other ways. They are an example of rights grounded in substantive due process. Parents' role in schools is a prominent political issue, and states have adopted "parents' bill of rights" laws giving parents access to curriculum, library materials and school records, and in some cases requiring notification if a student asks to be known by a different gender identity at school.

Conservatives frame these laws as restoring parental authority and transparency, and a major argument for school choice. Opponents argue that the laws could harm students, especially LGBTQ youth, whose parents might be unsupportive, and that they interfere with teachers' professional judgment and censor materials. Courts are considering the extent to which parental rights apply to school policies on gender identity and religious objections to curriculum, as in Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025). See also Title IX.

Last reviewed November 8, 2026

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Related terms

School choice Policies that let families use public education funds or tax benefits to select schools beyond their assigned district school. Homeschooling Education of children at home by parents or tutors rather than in a public or private school, legal in every U.S. state. Title IX The 1972 federal law banning sex discrimination in education programs that receive federal funds, now central to disputes over athletics and gender identity. Religious liberty The freedom to hold and practice religious beliefs, protected by the First Amendment and a range of federal and state laws. Substantive due process A doctrine holding that the Due Process Clauses protect certain fundamental rights from government interference, not just fair procedures.