FAIR News: Standing for Parents’ Constitutional Rights
Newsletter
Dear Friends of FAIR,
FAIR is proud to support the Child and Parental Rights Campaign as it takes on an important lawsuit that illustrates the tragedies that can befall innocent children when authority figures usurp parents’ constitutional rights.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Michelle Blair in her capacity as guardian of a minor child “S.B.,” names several defendants, including S.B.’s former Virginia school district’s superintendent, school counselors, and a Maryland public defender. The complaint alleges that the school officials called S.B. into several meetings to discuss her “gender identity” and that the district socially transitioned S.B. by referring to her using a male name and male pronouns and allowed her to use the boys’ facilities. Ms. Blair alleges that the school district deliberately hid all of this information from them. Unfortunately, S.B. was bullied because of her gender transition, allegedly facilitated by the school. Ms. Blair claims that the school district never informed her of the struggles S.B. was experiencing.
Ultimately, S.B. ran away from home to meet an online predator who had posed as a boy her own age. The adult man allegedly drugged, raped, and trafficked S.B. across state lines, where she was ultimately picked up by law enforcement, and a Maryland public defender became involved. S.B.’s parents were initially called to be reunited with her, but the Maryland public defender ultimately blocked their reunion, according to the lawsuit, once she learned that S.B.’s parents did not refer to her using a male name. (S.B.’s parents were not even aware that S.B. wished to be called by a male name because, as the lawsuit alleges, the school district hid this information from them.) S.B.'s parents had never neglected or abused S.B., yet their constitutional rights were nonetheless taken away from them. S.B.'s tragic ordeal only continued to get worse when the Maryland public defender had S.B. placed in a foster home for male adolescents, where she suffered additional sexual abuse and trauma. S.B. ran away again, ultimately winding up in Texas, suffering further rape and torture before she was rescued by authorities who reunited her with her parents.
FAIR is supporting the Child and Parental Rights Campaign as it litigates this heartbreaking case because we firmly believe that fit parents have a constitutional right to direct and control the upbringing of their children. The legal presumption that parents will act in the best interests of their children cannot be usurped by authorities on the basis of their suppositions that they know better what is best for a child than her own parents.
Warmly,
The Team at the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism
FAIR is seeking an experienced and philosophically-aligned individual to lead our organization as Executive Director. As the leader of the organization, the Executive Director will be a public-facing example of FAIR’s core principles of fairness, understanding, and humanity. The ED will oversee implementation of FAIR’s strategic vision, developed in collaboration with the board of directors and other stakeholders, and will ensure its long term growth and success by raising and earning funds and developing a team that can carry out programming to help us reach our vision.
The executive director reports to the FAIR board of directors, who will work closely with the executive director on strategy, development of budgets, fundraising, and ensuring that the organization’s communications are in line with its values. Read FAIR board member Angel Eduardo’s letter regarding the position and why FAIR is needed now more than ever. The deadline to apply for this position is today, Thursday, August 31st!
Jason Aldean: A Retrospective with Braver Angels
Join us Tuesday, September 12th from 8 - 9:30pm EST join FAIR in the Arts and Braver Angels Music for a free community discussion about Jason Aldean, whose hit country song "Try That in a Small Town" has stirred up controversy since its release in May 2023. Co-led by FAIR in the Arts Director Brent Morden, BA Music Co-Director John Carroll, and Choralosophy Host Chris Munce, we will explore questions including: How do we make sense of the polarizing reactions to figures like Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony? How do these reactions reveal broader trends in our culture? How can we use this moment to find common ground? What should we take away?
Parent Advocacy Training: Engaging School Boards
Join FAIR in Education fellow Tanya Simons on Thursday, September 21st from 7 - 8pm EST for a meeting in which you will learn how to effectively engage school board members and other decision makers. School boards make decisions that directly impact the education your child receives. Learn how to effectively advocate on behalf of your child in the public education system.
SEL, Surveys, and Student Data: What Parents Need to Know
Join us on Tuesday, September 26th from 7 - 8:30pm EST for a 60 minute webinar followed by 30 minutes of Q&A about parental rights and the harms of the seemingly innocuous surveys that students are being asked to take in schools.
What is transformative Social Emotional Learning? Which surveys and screeners do schools commonly use, and how are they being used to collect student data? Could the content of these be harmful to your child’s mental health? What are your rights and responsibilities as a parent to protect your child from these data collection tools?
This webinar will explore the application and implications of screeners and surveys used to collect data on K-12 students in the domains of Social Emotional Learning and mental health. Panelists include child and adolescent psychiatrist and FAIR in Medicine Fellow Dr. Lauren Schwartz, school law and FAIR Network Attorney Daniel Rhoads, and SEL consultant Jennifer McWilliams. Each panelist brings their own expertise on this important topic.
Genspect Presents: The Bigger Picture, a Healthy Approach to Sex and Gender
Save the date! November 4th and 5th, join friend of FAIR, Genspect, for a conference in Denver, Colorado on gender care and the thought leaders creating better solutions. The tickets go on sale exclusively to friends of Genspect today! Friends of Genspect also receive a 25% discount off all events.
Dr. Tabia Lee: Rejecting the DEI Orthodoxy From Within DEI
The threats to our democracy of not speaking up, of not saying something, of not working with other similar-minded individuals, are too great. This is a moment we have; we can make a positive change, not just in our local communities but in the nation. It's a world where every person feels free to be themselves and [know] they're not going to be canceled or eliminated for having a different viewpoint or approach. There's space for everyone here.
FAIR News Podcast
For audio versions of our FAIR News and FAIR Weekly Roundup newsletters, subscribe and listen to FAIR News Weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or via RSS feed.
FAIR Educators Alliance & Other Networks
Connect with other pro-human educators through the FAIR Educators Alliance. We bring together educators from all levels to share experiences and work on developing resources that can support teachers, community members, and FAIR chapters.
Teachers, administrators, librarians, and educators of all kinds are welcome. For more information and to join any of these networks, please email educators@fairforall.org.
Join the FAIR Community
Join us, and become a member of FAIR.
Become a FAIR volunteer, or join a FAIR chapter.
Take the Pro-Human Pledge and help promote a common culture based on fairness, understanding, and humanity.
Sign-up for a Welcome to FAIR Zoom information session to learn more about our mission.
Share your reviews and incident reports on our FAIR Transparency website.
God bless FAIR in all of your efforts. These issues are of the greatest importance to our society and to the human race. I pray that you find a highly capable executive Director who will lead you into the upcoming battles with "Power, Love and a sound mind" as Saint Paul writes.
This lawsuit has nothing to do with intolerance and racism and I do not support it. It's impossible to tell from your one-sided account whether the child suffered from any actions of the school authorities, but as a general principle I'm opposed to the idea that parents have any right to exercise cultlike milieu control over their children. If they don't know about their child's gender identity issues it's for one reason and one reason only, and that is that they haven't earned the child's trust. The school's responsibility is to keep their own trust with the child by not going behind their back.