The history of Western Civilization reflects the strong tradition of families having broad parental authority over their minor children. This broad authority resides in the liberty to care for the upbringing and education of their children.

The Education of one’s children is essential to Parental Liberty The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled that parents "control the education of their own (children)" and that right is protected by the Constitution. In Meyer v. Nebraska, (1923), the Court explained that the Fourteenth Amendment in protecting the parental right to educate one’s children is among those essential to liberty, and the fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union rests. The state may not enter “the private realm of family, because “the custody, care, and nurture of the child resides first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state cannot supply nor hinder, for children are not mere creatures of the state.” US. Supreme Court decisions have demonstrated that parental rights are not only deeply rooted in American history and tradition but are also essential to liberty and justice. This function and liberty includes preparation obligations the state can neither supply or hinder.

The Importance of Christian Morality Sir William Blackstone described “education” did not just mean teaching mere arithmetic or literacy. At the time of the founding of our nation, the end of education was virtue [Virtue is the quality of being morally good]. Samuel and John Adams linked the success of a free society directly to Christian morality; discussed the importance of renovating the age by impressing upon minds the "exalted virtues of the Christian system; and linked the success of a free society directly to Christian morality.” James Madison argued that a republic cannot survive without virtue, saying it's a "chimerical idea" to expect liberty without it.” Benjamin Franklin stated that "only a virtuous people are capable of freedom."

The Education of one’s children is essential to Parental Liberty The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled that parents "control the education of their own (children)" and that right is protected by the Constitution, In Meyer v. Nebraska, (1923), the Court explained that the Fourteenth Amendment in protecting the parental right to educate one’s children is among those essential to liberty, and the fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union rests. The state may not enter “the private realm of family, because “the custody, care, and nurture of the child resides first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state cannot supply nor hinder, for children are not mere creatures of the state.”

Education by the state is not to undermine parental religious values In Prince v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, (1944), The Court’s parental rights doctrine was developed by parents seeking to ensure that their children’s education (by the state) does not undermine their religious values. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, (2025) the Court explained that the right of parents is “not merely a right to teach religion in the confines of one’s own home,” but “extends to the choices that parents wish to make for their children outside the home.” In Wisconsin v. Yoder, (date), the Court recognized “the fundamental interest of parents, as contrasted with that of the State, to guide the religious future and education of their children.”

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However, while parents have a fundamental right to decide whether to enroll their child in a public school, they do not have a fundamental right generally to direct how a public school teaches their child. Whether it is the school curriculum, the hours of the school day, school discipline, the timing and content of examinations, the individuals hired to teach at the school, the extracurricular activities offered at the school, or a dress code … these issues of public education are generally “committed to the control of state and local authorities.” This is so, because as the Supreme Court mentioned, it would be impossible for a school to comply with all the various wishes of parents. Therefore, even though parents have the fundamental right to control the education of their children, that generally ends at the doorstep of a government-run public school. To exercise their fundamental right to control the education of their children, they must seek the education of their child in a private school setting, bearing the cost themselves.