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The Supreme Court has turned down a third case from parents challenging school district policies related to students鈥� gender identity. 

On Monday, the justices rejected a in which parents Jeff and January Littlejohn alleged that a Leon County middle school violated their rights by supporting their child鈥檚 gender transition from female to male without their knowledge. The decision comes after the justices declined to hear two similar cases, one from last week and another from in March. 

For now, their decision means that the court might end its term without taking up one of the most contentious issues in education 鈥� the debate over whether state and district policies that aim to protect the privacy of LGBTQ students violate parents鈥� rights to direct the upbringing of their children. 

In March, the conservative majority sided with California parents who argued that districts should proactively inform parents if their child wants to change their gender identity. But in that case, they only reinstated a lower court decision to temporarily block schools from keeping such information private. They have yet to address the substance of the arguments on either side of the issue.

鈥淭his does require a full briefing and a full decision on the merits,鈥� said Katie Cosgrove, counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, a conservative law firm representing a that recently asked the Supreme Court to hear another case related to parental notification. 鈥淭he court needs to make some clear clarifications on this parental rights issue.鈥�

The court鈥檚 decision comes as the House is expected to vote this week on that would require schools to alert parents if students ask to change their preferred names or pronouns as well as the sex-based facilities they use. Those in favor of parental notification say districts have kept parents locked out of one of the most consequential decisions in their children鈥檚 lives. 

But advocates for LGBTQ students, , say students questioning their gender identity face of violence, poor mental health and unstable housing if they鈥檙e not ready to be open with their families.

In her dissent in , the other California case, Justice Lynn Kagan, one of the three liberals on the court, also argued that the justices should have let the lawsuit run its course in the Ninth Circuit. The conservative majority, she wrote, was 鈥渋mpatient.鈥� 

鈥淭he court resolves the issues raised through shortcut procedures on the emergency docket even though it has had 鈥� for months now 鈥� the option of doing so the regular way, on our merits docket,鈥� she wrote.聽

The newest case on that list is the Rocklin Unified School District鈥檚 lawsuit against California鈥檚 Public Employment Relations Board. In 2023, the district, north of Sacramento, began requiring schools to notify parents if their child wants to use a name or pronoun for facilities that doesn鈥檛 align with their sex at birth.

The board, on behalf of the teachers union, filed an unfair labor charge against the district, saying that the policy essentially changed the terms of teachers鈥� employment and should have been negotiated. The union won in a state appeals court and the California Supreme Court declined to hear the case. That鈥檚 when Liberty Justice Center asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in.

Cosgrove called the lawsuit a 鈥渁 super interesting intersection of parental rights and the union and administrative board overstepping its authority.鈥�

鈥楾hey sought to help the child鈥�

But most of these cases have been brought by parents.

It took the court several months to decide whether to take the Littlejohns鈥� case. The justices rescheduled it for their conference days 10 times after initial briefs were submitted last fall. 

The dispute with Florida鈥檚 Leon County district, which encompasses Tallahassee, began in 2020. The Littlejohns told Deerlake Middle School that their child, A.G., was being treated by a therapist for gender confusion, and to continue treating the student as a girl. But A.G. asked the school counselor to use the name 鈥淛鈥� and 鈥渢hem鈥� pronouns. The lawsuit states that school officials continued to support A.G.鈥檚 social transition, including holding a meeting to create a 鈥渟upport plan,鈥� without the Littlejohns鈥� knowledge.

In multiple filings in the case, the district says that once the Littlejohns objected, school officials gave them the plan and invited them to be present at all future meetings with the student.

The parents sued the district in 2021, but lower courts ruled for the district and dismissed the case. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, considered one of the most conservative circuits in the federal court system, the educators鈥� actions did not 鈥渟hock the conscience,鈥� in a legal sense.

鈥淒efendants did not act with intent to injure,鈥� the court said. 鈥淭o the contrary, they sought to help the child.鈥�

Meanwhile, for the Trump administration, became a symbol of the fight against such district policies. She was among President Donald Trump鈥檚 special guests when he addressed Congress in 2025, and she鈥檚 a at Do No Harm, a nonprofit that opposes gender-affirming healthcare, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery.

The district argued that the case was moot.

Since the Littlejohns sued, Florida, like , passed a parental rights bill that says schools can鈥檛 鈥渋nfringe鈥� on parents鈥� fundamental rights. As a result, the district revised its policy to say that school staff can鈥檛 鈥渋ntentionally withhold information from parents unless a reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect.鈥� 

Brian Dittmeier, director of LGBTQI+ Equality at the National Women鈥檚 Law Center, said that because of the Florida law, a similar dispute probably wouldn鈥檛 happen today. He added, however, that 鈥渢hese issues have to be sorted out at the local level.鈥�

鈥淎 single federal standard,鈥� he said 鈥渋s not going to resolve the tension that we see between some families and schools on this issue.鈥�

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