“Parents’ rights actually mean every parent, not just some”: Navigating parental rights in public schools under the pending threat of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation

Abstract

Conducted in a critical transitional period in 2023, this article explores how eight school professionals in New Orleans public charter schools perceived and responded to proposed state-level anti-LGBTQ+ educational legislation. During the liminal period following the proposal of two anti-LGBTQ+ bills in Louisiana, but prior to their eventual enactment in 2024, educators reflected on how parental rights impacted schools currently, their fears and worries about the new legislation, and plans to resist the new legislation. Refracted through the lenses of institutional theory and chilling effects theory, potential consequences and implications of the legislation are discussed, ultimately concluding that the current political environment has the potential to further ingratiate prevailing cisheteronormativity embedded within the school system.