Panel 3: Parents’ Rights, Children’s Rights, and Social Rights

A central doctrinal legacy of Pierce is the recognition of parental rights in directing the education of their children. This legacy implicates children’s rights in the context of their education, as well as the right of society to use education for the replication of social values. The scope and meaning of these rights have changed over the past century. This panel will explore the meaning of these different rights, then and now, considering what parents’ rights are vis-à-vis the state and their children’s interests, including their right to direct religious education and homeschooling, as well as current issues of parents’ rights to control public school education around race, political content, and information related to gender-affirming care.

Moderator: Judge Daniel A. Bress, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit