Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal from a Florida couple who alleged that their parental rights were violated by a now-revised school board policy that kept their daughter's school from informing them about her request to use a different name and pronouns.

In rejecting the case, the high court again sidesteps a simmering battle that pits the right of parents to direct their child's care against policies enacted in recent years that aim to protect students' privacy and prevent public schools from outing transgender students to their families.

At least three of the justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, have already urged courts to address whether a school district violates parents' rights when it affirms a student's gender transition without their knowledge or consent, calling the issue of one of "great and growing national importance."

The Supreme Court's conservative majority also blocked a California law that prevents school districts from requiring teachers to notify parents if their child seeks to use different pronouns while litigation moves forward. 

The legal battle stems from procedures developed by the School Board of Leon County, Florida, in 2018 that it said aimed to balance concerns of safety, privacy, students' rights and parental notice that arose when a student sought to use a different name and pronouns.

Under the county's guide, when students informed their school's administration that they would assert a different gender identity, the school would treat the students consistent with that gender identity. For students who say they are transgender or gender nonconforming, the guide said that a "support plan" should be completed at a meeting with school officials.

The procedures noted that in some cases, outing students to parents could be dangerous to their health and well-being, and school officials should ask the students for consent to notify their parents of the support plan.

Three years after the Leon County School Board created its guide, Florida enacted a "Parents' Bill of Rights" that prohibited public schools from infringing on parents' rights to direct the "upbringing, education, health care and mental health" of their children. To adhere to that policy, the school board revised its procedures in June 2022 to ensure school personnel didn't intentionally withhold information from parents.

Several states have enacted similar measures in recent years regarding parental notification and consent.

But in the intervening years, a student, who is identified in court papers as A.G. and attended a middle school in Tallahassee, Florida, told her parents January and Jeffrey Littlejohn that she was confused about her gender and asked to change her name to "J" and use they/them pronouns, according to court filings.

The parents did not agree, but said she could use "J" as a nickname at school. The Littlejohns did not consent to their daughter going by a different name or pronouns at school, according to court papers.

Soon after, A.G. expressed to a school counselor a desire to use a different name and they/them pronouns. The counselor, social worker and principal then met with the student to complete a support plan and sought various information, including her preferred name and pronouns. According to court filings, the Littlejohns were not told of or invited to the meeting because their child did not ask for them to be there. 

The parents learned about the meeting through A.G. several days later, and demanded the school stop meeting privately with their child and treating her as nonbinary. They were later given a copy of A.G.'s support plan, they said in court papers.

The Littlejohns and the school board have made conflicting claims as to whether school officials met with A.G. again.

The parents sued the school board and district officials in 2021, alleging that their rights to make decisions about the care and upbringing of their children were violated.

The trial court dismissed the case, and a federal appeals court upheld the decision. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that while it agreed the school infringed the Littlejohns' fundamental rights, the parents failed to satisfy the standard for proving a violation of their substantive due process rights.

In turning away the case, the Supreme Court leaves that lower court decision in place.