Update: On August 30, 2024, The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling upholding a Manchester school district policy in support of transgender students, which includes referring to students by their requested names and pronouns and maintaining student privacy when appropriate. The Court concluded that “[T]he plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that the Policy infringes a fundamental parenting right.” 

Students should feel safe and supported in school.

Our brief with the ACLU of NH warns that reversing public schools’ long-understood discretion in disclosing information about student identity would inappropriately insert schools into parent-child relationships, undermine students’ engagement with learning, and deter them from seeking support at school.

On February 27, 2023, GLAD and the ACLU of New Hampshire filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) urging the New Hampshire Supreme Court to uphold a Manchester School District policy providing support for transgender students. Joining GLAD and the ACLU-NH as amici on the brief are New Hampshire parent Heather Romeri and her son Nico, a New Hampshire high school student, Directors of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for New Hampshire public schools, as well as faith leaders, medical organizations, and LGBTQ advocacy organizations.

The brief highlights the vital educational interests served by the Manchester School District’s policy of supporting and affirming the gender identity of students at school. That policy includes referring to students by their requested names and pronouns and maintaining student privacy when appropriate. The amici argue that a bright-line ruling mandating that schools disclose such information to parents without regard to the student’s wishes and circumstances would inappropriately and sometimes harmfully insert schools into parent-child relationships, would deter students from seeking support and sharing information at school, and would negatively impact the learning environment of all students.

Learn more.

Read the brief.