Parental Rights in Minnesota

Minnesota Parental Rights News

Minnesota to End All Private Education?

March 11, 2020

A new proposal in Minnesota would create a constitutional provision that “all children have a fundamental right to a quality public education,” which could threaten the natural and constitutional right of parents to decide what form of education is best for their child. While the availability of a free public education has been a hallmark…

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Minnesota State Law and Parental Rights

At Risk

Minnesota does not have a state statute that explicitly defines and protects parental rights as fundamental rights.

March 2018: Some Minnesota lawmakers introduced a bill (S.F. 3779) to try to address disproportionality in CPS (see this Parental Rights Foundation report for disproporitionality information by state).

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Minnesota Courts and Parental Rights

"Strict Scrutiny" Applied to Parental Rights

Soohoo v. Johnson, 731 N.W.2d 815, 821 (Minn. 2007): The MN Supreme Court held that even though "the Supreme Court in Troxel did not articulate the standard of review to be applied when reviewing third-party visitation statutes . . .Strict scrutiny is the appropriate standard of review when fundamental rights are at issue."

However, this precedent is subject to change.