The ACLU is suing against parental rights in Montana

The ACLU is trying to overturn a Montana law requiring schools to notify parents about sex education or LGBT topics being discussed with their children.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the ACLU of Montana, claims SB 99 is chilling the free speech of educators.

SB 99 was signed into law in 2021 and codifies parents’ rights to opt their children out of lessons regarding “human sexuality, including intimate relationships, human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexually transmitted infections, sexual acts, sexual orientations, gender identity, abstinence, contraception, or reproductive rights and responsibilities.”

However, the lawsuit claims requiring parental notification “has a deeply chilling effect on any inclusive and compassionate discussion or instruction on 2S-LGBTQIA+ identities and issues in Montana public schools.”  

It argues the definition of human sexuality is too vague and could prevent students from reading Romeo and Juliet, since it depicts an intimate relationship, or from learning about DNA and its biological role in reproduction. 

The law “is fostering damaging self-censorship within Montana’s schools and making it harder than ever for school staff to support students,” claimed Marthe VanSickle, an attorney for the ACLU of Montana. “Without clear guidance on the issues that fall under the scope of SB 99, teachers, librarians and others are at risk of discipline if they unknowingly violate this legislation.” 

Nevertheless, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen – both defendants in the suit – are sticking by the parental notification law.  

“Woke organizations are once again attacking me because I am a conservative and I’m standing for parental rights,” Arntzen said in a statement. “Government bureaucracy doesn’t own our children. Montana families have the right to know what their children are being taught and the right to opt-out of participating.”  

“While the government’s office generally doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation,” a spokesperson for the governor said, “the governor remains committed to preserving a Montana parent’s role in his or her child’s education, especially a parent’s right to know when a child might be exposed to sexually explicit content in the classroom.”