Parental Rights in Minnesota
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).
Don't Miss a Critical Issue!
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.