Schools are an integral part of society, supporting families in the education of children nationwide. But many school districts across the country have now adopted policies that require school officials to treat students according to their self-proclaimed “gender identity” rather than their biological sex. In many cases, no parental consent is necessary, and some policies even require that school officials hide these so-called “social transitions” from parents.
These policies aren’t isolated, either. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has noted, “We are told that more than 1,000 districts have adopted such policies.” Nationwide, this translates to thousands of schools—and thousands more students—affected by such policies. It seems as though these school districts are forgetting one important constitutional truth: parental rights do not end “at the schoolhouse gate.”
In multiple states, parents are pushing back against these secret transition policies and courageously standing up for their fundamental rights. Some are even challenging unconstitutional secret “social transitions” in court. Christin Heaps is one such father who is willing to stand against Delaware Valley Regional High School’s disregard for his fundamental right to direct his daughter’s upbringing, education, and healthcare.
Who is Christin Heaps?
Christin Heaps is a loving father to his high school daughter, who experienced the traumatic loss of her mother at a young age. When she started high school, Christin had already been working with mental health professionals to care for her for about a year and a half. Together, they had decided to take a cautious approach to her care.
High school goes behind father’s back
However, about halfway through his daughter’s freshman year of high school, Christin Heaps found out that the Delaware Valley Regional High School Board of Education had made decisions regarding his daughter and her mental health without his knowledge. For months—without Christin’s consent or knowledge—school officials treated his daughter as a boy, using a masculine name and male pronouns to refer to her. Christin only happened to discover what was going on because he overheard another parent refer to his daughter by a masculine name.
In a meeting with the school after this discovery, Christin found out that the school counselor who led the “social transition” of his daughter was unaware of the ongoing mental healthcare his daughter was receiving outside of school. And at the meeting, Christin instructed the school officials to stop referring to his daughter as a boy.
In response, school administrators said that state law and related guidance which the school board had adopted as official policy required them to “socially transition” his daughter upon her request—without seeking his consent—and required them to keep it secret from him. Afterwards, Christin placed his daughter in a district-run home-instruction program, but the school board promised him employees would continue to follow the policy.
As a result, Christin filed a lawsuit against state and school district officials for violating his parental rights by treating his daughter as a boy without his knowledge or consent and continuing to do so against his expressed wishes. Sadly, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied his request for a preliminary injunction against the defendants. Prompted by this denial, Christin, with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom and Murray-Nolan Berutti LLC, appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The case is currently pending before that court.
School districts should protect parental rights
School policies such as this one undermine parents’ fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and healthcare of their children. Rather than supporting parents in the vital role they play in their children’s lives, schools are disregarding parents and excluding them from critical decisions about their children.
The reality is that parents know their children better—and love them more—than anyone else. School districts should not be trying to usurp the God-given role that parents play in the lives of their children.
Heaps v. Delaware Valley Regional High School Board of Education
- January 2024: Christin Heaps sued the Delaware Valley Regional High School Board of Education for treating his daughter as a boy without his consent or knowledge and continuing to do so against his express instructions.
- November 2024: The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied Christin’s request to stop school employees from ‘socially transitioning’ his daughter without his knowledge or consent.
- December 2024: Murray-Nolan Berutti LLC attorneys appealed the district court’s decision.
- June 2025: ADF attorneys, along with Murray-Nolan Berutti LLC attorneys, filed an opening brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.
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