Latest news with #AmericanParentsCoalition
Fox News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Parent groups, religious liberty experts hail SCOTUS upholding parents rights in LGBTQ books case
The Supreme Court's decision on Friday supporting Maryland parents who fought to withdraw their children from LGBTQ storybook lessons in elementary school classrooms was hailed as a victory for parents' rights and religious liberty. "Today's victory sent a resounding message to activist school board members and educators nationwide: parental rights are not optional, and our children are not sounding boards or political tools for your radical agendas," Alleigh Marré, executive director of the parental rights group, American Parents Coalition, said in a statement following the ruling. "This victory offered critical clarification to activist school board members in Montgomery County, Maryland, who displayed disdain for parental authority and opt-outs, making it clear that teaching 3-year-olds about radical gender ideology was a higher priority than student learning, much less parental rights," she added. In a 6-3 decision that fell along ideological lines, the court held that parents were entitled to opt their children out of school lessons that could violate their religious beliefs. "We have long recognized," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority, "the rights of parents to direct 'the religious upbringing' of their children. And we have held that those rights are violated by government policies that substantially interfere with the religious development of children." "We reject this chilling vision of the power of the state to strip away the critical right of parents to guide the religious development of their children," Alito wrote. The parents, from Muslim, Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox faiths, sued Montgomery County Public Schools after the district refused to allow parents the choice to withdraw their school-age children from being introduced to LGBTQ pride storybooks in the classroom. According to Becket, the legal group representing the parents' case, the books "champion pride parades, gender transition and pronoun preferences for children." While the school board initially allowed parents to opt their children out of this curriculum, the board quickly reversed course after too many parents requested opt-outs, believing it "undermined the schools' educational obligations toward inclusion, equity, and respect," according to the ACLU, who filed an amicus brief with the court in support of the school district. The families alleged the forced participation in these lessons violated their parental rights and religious convictions protected under the First Amendment. In a scathing dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that allowing children to be "insulated from exposure to ideas and concepts that may conflict with their parents' religious beliefs" was a threat to democracy and multicultural society. "Today's ruling ushers in that new reality. Casting aside longstanding precedent, the Court invents a constitutional right to avoid exposure to 'subtle' themes 'contrary to the religious principles' that parents wish to instill in their children," she wrote. "The result will be chaos for this nation's public schools," Sotomayor added. A law professor who specializes in religious liberty cases and lives in Montgomery County told Fox News Digital that the court wasn't threatening diversity, but actually protecting diversity of opinion. "It's really about protecting pluralism in a fundamental, principled way," Professor Asma Uddin said. "If the concern is about inclusion and making space for diverse viewpoints, then that has to extend beyond a certain set of things that have to be presented to also give space for diverse viewpoints. We can do that through procedural flexibility – the ability to opt out from these readings." Uddin, a fellow at the Faith and Media Initiative who will be teaching constitutional law at Michigan State University in the fall, called it troubling the way the school board dismissed the views of these parents, referencing how one member even compared their views to those of "White supremacists." "It has to be something where people have genuine rights to disagree even on things that are just really contentious, that are really core to who we are as people, to our identities. It's got to be a space where we can have a diversity of views on that," she added. According to Becket, the Montgomery County School Board is one of the few school boards across the nation to ban notices and opt-outs for parents on sexuality and gender instruction. Parents in this case were not trying to ban LGBTQ books from the classroom, but were asking that they be notified before they are used in classroom instruction and be given the option to withdraw their children from these lessons. Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO of CatholicVote, a conservative political advocacy group, reacted to the ruling in a statement, saying, "It should alarm every American that such a case needed the intervention of the nation's highest court. It is worth stating clearly that the state cannot raise your child better than you. Parents, not politicians or activists, are the primary educators of their children." "The Court's ruling sends a clear and powerful message: America still respects the rights of parents to raise their children in line with their faith and conscience. And school boards have no business putting ideology over families. Let this decision renew our courage. We must continue to stand firm against efforts to undermine the family, which is the first school of love, truth, and freedom," she added. Lawyer and president of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network Carrie Severino said in a statement, "Public school children shouldn't be hostages in the culture wars, and today's Supreme Court case affirmed that by restoring the rights of parents to direct the education of their children, especially their religious education." "Ten years ago in Obergefell, Justice Kennedy promised that religious rights would continue to be respected, even in the face of an increasingly doctrinaire LGBTQ orthodoxy. Unfortunately, it has taken a decade of Court decisions to correct the many lower courts who have denegrated First Amendment rights, but today's decision is a major victory in that effort," she added.
Fox News
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Parental rights watchdog exposes left-wing climate group's strategy to recruit kids for environmental activism
FIRST ON FOX: Parental watchdog group American Parents Coalition is sounding the alarm about a left-wing climate advocacy group that they warn could be coming for your kids. In a new report, published via APC's parental notification system called "The Lookout," the parental rights watchdog alleges climate advocacy group Our Children's Trust (OCT) is "emotionally manipulating" children to advance its climate agenda. Besides OCT's lawsuits that entail youth plaintiffs, APC pointed to curriculum materials the climate advocacy group promotes, which the watchdog said are "aimed at indoctrinating kids into a particular set of beliefs about the environment." APC also cited OCT's promotion of social media posts and research studies that talk about children's "climate-related stress." "Our Children's Trust should not be 'trusted' by parents," APC Executive Director Alleigh Marré said. "The left's obsession with undermining parental authority and targeting young minds has now entered the climate movement." In May, on behalf of 22 young people, several of whom were minors at the time of filing, OCT filed Lighthiser v. Trump to challenge the president's executive orders related to the fossil fuel industry and peeling back Biden-era green energy mandates. APC says the suit utilizes a narrative of climate hysteria, arguing, "Plaintiffs were born into and now live in a destabilized climate system…" and "Every additional ton of GHG pollution and increment of heat Defendants cause will cause Olivia [a child plaintiff] more harm." Meanwhile, in addition to using children to help file its climate change-related lawsuits, OCT also pushes educator resources and course materials to schools that perpetuate the idea of climate-related stress and anxiety in young people. For example, APC pointed to course materials that included a brainstorming session for students, which the watchdog group said implies parents are not offering adequate protection for children. The classroom exercise asked students: "What might make youth different from other people in the eyes of a court?" Sample answers provided to students included, "Youth generally will outlive older generations and so will have to live with the consequences of adults' present-day actions," and "Youth are often dependent upon adults for protection of their physical, mental and social well-being." APC also pointed to OCT's use of social media and research to promote the idea that their child-driven climate lawsuits are necessary. "Climate anxiety is real and it's impacting children's mental health," an Instagram post highlighted by APC states. "Children are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to their physical, developmental and socio-economic characteristics," another Instagram post highlighted by APC says. "No organization should be focused on stoking anxiety and fear among kids in an effort to persuade them to join lawsuits that are activist and political in nature," Marré said. "The bombardment from Our Children's Trust and other activist groups pushing climate alarmism and hysteria are having devastating impacts to children's mental health. Exposing children to this kind of extremist mentality is not productive and leads to manipulation rather than education." Marré also complained that this stifles children's ability to think for themselves. However, OCT vigorously disagreed with the assertions made by Marré and APC. "Our Children's Trust, a group founded by mothers, equips young people with the education and tools to understand the world they know they are inheriting—and to participate in civic life in a meaningful, lawful way," OCT said in a statement to Fox News Digital when they were reached for comment. "While the APC did not allow us to review its report in advance of its release, we can confidently say its conclusions represented to us by Fox News are false. We do not manipulate young people. Youth come to us already deeply aware of how climate change is impacting their lives and futures. They pursue legal action because the political branches of government are harming their fundamental rights to life, safety, and health." The statement from OCT went on to argue that the assertion that "climate anxiety among youth is somehow manufactured" is "out of touch" and "insulting to the millions of children facing record-breaking wildfires, floods, and extreme heat." "It's telling that this group purporting to represent parents would rather discredit youth voices than address the real climate harms children are living through," OCT's statement concluded. "Our work is grounded in science, constitutional and children's rights, and civic engagement—not fearmongering—and is supported by pediatricians, parents, teachers, and faith leaders across the country. Young people don't need to be manipulated to care about the planet. They are already living the consequences."
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Parents group urges Trump admin to investigate YMCA over gender identity policies
A parents' group is urging the Trump administration to investigate the YMCA for what it claims is "unlawful gender-based discrimination in its programs and policies." "The YMCA's policy of disfavoring and imperiling young girls and favoring and empowering those who choose to present as a gender other than their own is antithetical to the principles of federal civil rights law and gender equality," Alleigh Marré, executive director of the American Parents Coalition, said in a letter directed to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner. "It is morally wrong and legally impermissible," Marré added in the letter sent Tuesday. Trump Admin To Probe Illinois School Over Allegations Girls Were Forced To Change In Front Of Trans Student Archived pages of the YMCA's website called, "How to Create a Safe Space for LGBTQ+ Campers," and dated July 3, 2017, read "Ensure all campers and staff have access to the facilities aligned with their gender identity and comfort within facility and resource limitations." The page also recommends that youth development professionals "use gender-neutral (or self-identified) pronouns when referencing guardians/parents, partners, families and significant others," and "lift up stories of LGBTQ+ inclusion in trainings, marketing and camp activities." Read On The Fox News App Another archived page, "Affirming LGBTQ+ Communities with Pride," and dated June 7, 2022, states that the institution is meant to unite people "no matter their ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender expression, gender identity, ideology, income, national origin, race or sexual orientation." A current page on the YMCA's website titled, "For All," states that "The Y is made up of people of all ages, from all backgrounds, working side-by-side to strengthen communities. Together, we work to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity." It adds that their "core values are caring, honesty, respect and responsibility — they guide everything we do." Marré and the American Parents Coalition claim the YMCA is engaging in unlawful gender-based discrimination in its programs and policies and allege the YMCA is violating Title IX since the organization is a recipient of federal funds. On its website, the YMCA states that it receives over $600 million in government grants and over $930 million in non-government grants. "As a recipient of federal financial assistance, it is obligated to comply with the mandates of Title IX of the Education Amendments," the APC letter reads. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex or gender for entities that receive federal funding. "There is little room for interpretation where the law is so explicit," the letter reads. "This broad prohibition underscores the law's role in eliminating gender-based barriers to women's equal participation in all aspects of programming and activities, providing for "the women of America something that is rightfully theirs—an equal chance. The YMCA's policies permitting biological men to invade the sanctity of spaces set aside for women undoubtably violates this law." Ohio College 'Illegally Forcing Students' To Share Bathrooms With Opposite Sex: Watchdog The letter also highlights various instances of recent issues at several YMCA locations where women have been subjected to change in the same facilities as men. One such instance was in Kansas City, Missouri, where a biological male is being accused of allegedly exposing themselves to a seven-year-old girl while she was with her mother at a YMCA in North Kansas City. It also mentions a 2022 incident where a 17-year-old girl claimed she saw a transgender woman changing in a women's locker room at a California YMCA. "Perhaps most concerning is not what is known of the YMCA's gender policies, but what is yet unknown. In recent weeks, the YMCA has either restricted access to the portions of its website that deal with gender policies or has taken down those pages altogether," the letter claims. "By no means should one expect that the YMCA is changing its gender policies; rather, the YMCA is shielding those policies and future policies from public scrutiny." The letter also highlights Trump's Jan. 20 executive order banning the use of federal funds to promote gender ideology. Fox News Digital reached out to the Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education, as well as the YMCA for article source: Parents group urges Trump admin to investigate YMCA over gender identity policies
Fox News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Parents group urges Trump admin to investigate YMCA over gender identity policies
A parents' group is urging the Trump administration to investigate the YMCA for what it claims is "unlawful gender-based discrimination in its programs and policies." "The YMCA's policy of disfavoring and imperiling young girls and favoring and empowering those who choose to present as a gender other than their own is antithetical to the principles of federal civil rights law and gender equality," Alleigh Marré, executive director of the American Parents Coalition, said in a letter directed to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner. "It is morally wrong and legally impermissible," Marré added in the letter sent Tuesday. Archived pages of the YMCA's website called, "How to Create a Safe Space for LGBTQ+ Campers," and dated July 3, 2017, read "Ensure all campers and staff have access to the facilities aligned with their gender identity and comfort within facility and resource limitations." The page also recommends that youth development professionals "use gender-neutral (or self-identified) pronouns when referencing guardians/parents, partners, families and significant others," and "lift up stories of LGBTQ+ inclusion in trainings, marketing and camp activities." Another archived page, "Affirming LGBTQ+ Communities with Pride," and dated June 7, 2022, states that the institution is meant to unite people "no matter their ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender expression, gender identity, ideology, income, national origin, race or sexual orientation." A current page on the YMCA's website titled, "For All," states that "The Y is made up of people of all ages, from all backgrounds, working side-by-side to strengthen communities. Together, we work to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity." It adds that their "core values are caring, honesty, respect and responsibility — they guide everything we do." Marré and the American Parents Coalition claim the YMCA is engaging in unlawful gender-based discrimination in its programs and policies and allege the YMCA is violating Title IX since the organization is a recipient of federal funds. On its website, the YMCA states that it receives over $600 million in government grants and over $930 million in non-government grants. "As a recipient of federal financial assistance, it is obligated to comply with the mandates of Title IX of the Education Amendments," the APC letter reads. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex or gender for entities that receive federal funding. "There is little room for interpretation where the law is so explicit," the letter reads. "This broad prohibition underscores the law's role in eliminating gender-based barriers to women's equal participation in all aspects of programming and activities, providing for "the women of America something that is rightfully theirs—an equal chance. The YMCA's policies permitting biological men to invade the sanctity of spaces set aside for women undoubtably violates this law." The letter also highlights various instances of recent issues at several YMCA locations where women have been subjected to change in the same facilities as men. One such instance was in Kansas City, Missouri, where a biological male is being accused of allegedly exposing themselves to a seven-year-old girl while she was with her mother at a YMCA in North Kansas City. It also mentions a 2022 incident where a 17-year-old girl claimed she saw a transgender woman changing in a women's locker room at a California YMCA. "Perhaps most concerning is not what is known of the YMCA's gender policies, but what is yet unknown. In recent weeks, the YMCA has either restricted access to the portions of its website that deal with gender policies or has taken down those pages altogether," the letter claims. "By no means should one expect that the YMCA is changing its gender policies; rather, the YMCA is shielding those policies and future policies from public scrutiny." The letter also highlights Trump's Jan. 20 executive order banning the use of federal funds to promote gender ideology. Fox News Digital reached out to the Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education, as well as the YMCA for comment.
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Social media giant hit with scathing ad campaign amid anger over AI chatbots sexually exploiting kids
A nonprofit parents coalition is calling on multiple congressional committees to launch an investigation into Meta for prioritizing engagement metrics that put children's safety at risk. The call is part of a three-pronged attack campaign by the American Parents Coalition (APC), launched Thursday. It includes a letter to lawmakers with calls for investigations, a new parental notification system to help parents stay informed on issues impacting their kids at Meta and beyond, and mobile billboards at Meta D.C. and California headquarters, calling out the company for failure to adequately prioritize protecting children. APC's campaign follows an April Wall Street Journal report that included an investigation looking into how the company's metrics focus has led to potential harms for children. "This is not the first time Meta has been caught making tech available to kids that exposes them to inappropriate content," APC Executive Director Alleigh Marre said. "Parents across America should be extremely wary of their children's online activity, especially when it involves emerging technology like AI digital companions. This pattern of bad behavior from Meta shows they cannot be trusted to self-correct, and we are urging Congress to take meaningful action in holding Meta accountable for not prioritizing child safety." The April Wall Street Journal investigation not only reported on internal concerns that Meta was skirting ethical lines to make its AI chatbot system more advanced, but also shared how the report's authors tested out the system themselves. The reporters' test conversations found that Meta's AI chatbot systems engaged and sometimes escalated sexual discussions – even when the chatbot knew the user was underage. The investigation found that the AI chatbot could also be programmed to simulate a minor's persona while engaging with the end-user in a sexually explicit conversation. In some instances, the test conversations were able to get Meta's chatbot to speak about romantic encounters in the voice of Disney movie characters. "The reporting referenced in this letter doesn't reflect how people actually experience these AIs, which for teens is often in valuable ways, like helping with homework and learning new skills," a Meta spokesperson told Fox News Digital in response to the campaign. "We recognize parents' concerns about these new technologies, which is why we've put additional age-appropriate guardrails in place that allow parents to see if their teens have been chatting with AIs, and to place time limits on our apps. Importantly, we don't allow AIs to present as under 18s and we prohibit sexually explicit conversations with teens." Per the Journal's reporting, which Meta contests, the company made multiple internal decisions to loosen guardrails around its chatbots to make them as engaging as possible. Meta reportedly made an exemption to allow "explicit" content within its chatbot as long as it is in the content of romantic role playing. At the same time, Meta has taken steps to help improve its product safety for minor users, such as the introduction of Instagram's "Teen Accounts" with built-in safety protections that came out in 2024 amid increased scrutiny over the company's AI. In April, Meta announced the expansion of these accounts to Facebook and Messenger. On these accounts, minors are prohibited from conversations about sexually explicit content with chatbots. Meta also has parental supervision tools built into its AI chatbot system that are supposed to show parents whom their kids are talking to on a regular basis, including chatbot, and has tools to shut down accounts exhibiting potential suspicious behavior tied to child sexual exploitation. Coinciding with APC's campaign attacking Meta, the group launched a new website titled " with links to APC's letter to members of Congress, images of the mobile billboards they are deploying, a link to the new "lookout" notification system, and recent articles about Meta's work pertaining to children's safety.
