Across the United States, the debate over whether educators should inform parents about students’ decisions to undergo gender transition has increased. 

Currently, efforts to change their name, pronouns, or gender identity at school are all part of social transition. 

As such, some school districts have adopted policies that allow staff ot keep information about social transition confidential at the student’s request. Others require parental notification, prompting legal battles that have reached the Supreme Court. 

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court blocked a California policy that prohibited school personnel from notifying parents when a student requested a change to school documentation of their gender identity.

Our Epoch Times reader survey found that parents overwhelmingly oppose school facilitation of gender transition without parental consent.

Parental Rights

Readers indicated that they firmly believe in both parental rights and parental notification. 

Ninety-five percent of respondents said that schools should not keep information about a child’s gender identity from parents.

When asked the question in reverse, the answer was almost the same, and 97 percent disagree that schools should be allowed to keep a student’s gender identity confidential from parents if the student requests it. 

Ninety-seven percent of respondents agree that federal law should clearly protect parental rights regarding school gender policies. 

The same percentage agreed that parents should have the right to opt their children out of school counseling or programs related to gender identity.

Should those rights be violated, 98 percent believe that parents should have the right to sue schools that conceal gender-transition decisions involving their child. 

A whopping 99 percent of those surveyed said they believe that policies allowing schools to socially transition students without parental notification undermine trust between families and schools.

Ban on Involvement 

The vast majority of respondents said they think schools shouldn’t be involved in a child’s gender identity at all without the parents’ agreement.  

Almost all (99 percent) of those surveyed said public schools should not facilitate gender transition for minors without parental knowledge and consent, and 98 percent further agreed that states should add legal teeth to the issue and pass laws banning schools from facilitating gender transition for minors without parental consent. 

The same percentage (98 percent) said that schools that facilitate a minor’s gender transition without informing parents should face legal liability. 

Additionally, 99 percent said they believe teachers or administrators who deliberately hide a student’s gender transition from parents should face professional discipline.

A School’s Focus

Readers were clear about what they believe a school should do: Focus on traditional education. 

Ninety-nine percent of readers said schools should focus on education rather than guiding students on identity issues such as gender. 

Additionally, 97 percent said schools should notify parents if a student asks to use a different name or different pronouns. 

As for possible negative impacts, 96 percent said they believe that gender-identity policies in schools are contributing to a growing conflict between parents and public education systems. 

“Sexual orientation discussion is the responsibility of the parents, not the schools. Schools should focus on skills needed for entering the workforce,” one respondent said.

Another brought forward the cooilation between responsibility and authority, saying “As long as we all agree that parents should be held legally responsible for their children’s welfare and whatever they get into, it is logically indefensible to keep parents out of the loop regarding changing the sex of one’s child.”

Another reader noted the magnitude of this type of change, saying, “These are long-term life-changing decisions which are too extreme to let children decide without parental involvement.

“We can’t join the military or even vote until we are 18 precisely because these are very important decisions. I would argue that changing gender decisions are even more consequential than the decisions requiring an age restriction.”

The Epoch Times conducted this reader survey on March 11–12, 2026, by email and social media, generating 2,650 responses.