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Judge halts parental rights lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools

A federal judge in Maryland has dismissed a lawsuit brought by three parents against Montgomery County Public Schools to stop a policy of hiding students’ gender transitions from “unsupportive” caregivers.

U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm ruled late Thursday that the parents lack legal standing to proceed because the school district designed its Gender Support Plan guidelines to “apply flexibly.”

That means they exclude parents only at the request of transgender or gender nonconforming students who fear psychological or physical abuse — an area of “compelling interest” where Supreme Court precedent allows government intervention, the judge ruled.