Beginning in 1923, the United States Supreme Court recognized that parents have a right to direct the upbringing of their children, which sometimes requires public schools to adjust their programs to accommodate parents’ wishes. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this right as recently as 2000, reasoning that parents have the right to direct not only the upbringing but also the care of their children. 

The theoretical basis for these rights is the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. While parental rights are not explicitly mentioned in that amendment, it forbids the states from abridging the “privileges” or “immunities” of United States citizens. A decent originalist argument can be made that these privileges or immunities refer to God-given, inalienable rights, which include parental rights. The Supreme Court has recognized these rights under the Due Process Clause instead of the Privileges or Immunities Clause, but the fact is that parental rights are indeed deeply rooted in America’s history or traditions. Consequently, the Supreme Court has afforded them constitutional protection. Moreover, in 2005, five justices of the Alabama Supreme Court recognized that parents have God-given, inalienable rights over their children. Thus, whether the basis for this right is the history and tradition of the United States, the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the God-given rights of parents, or all of the above, parental rights are real, and the government must respect them.

Historically, the right to make healthcare decisions for children resided with the parents, not the schools. While parents delegate some of their authority to schools when they enroll their children, that authority is the authority to restrain and correct the children for the purpose of allowing the school to accomplish its educational mission. There is a big difference, however, between the authority to restrain and correct and the authority to make healthcare decisions. The former belongs to the school, whereas the latter belongs to the parents. Because the masking of health children is a prophylactic healthcare decision, ACLL believes it belongs to the parents, not the schools.