Professor Joseph Griffith’s work on parental rights was recently cited twice in an amicus’ brief submitted to the Supreme Court in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor.  

Griffith is an assistant professor of history and political science at Ashland University with areas of specialty in American Political Thought, Constitutional Law, Political Philosophy and Politics and Literature.  

He joined the staff at AU in 2023 and studies the right of parents to direct their children’s education and the role of the state in forming educated citizens.  

Mahmoud v. Taylor is a currently pending case about a group Maryland parents who argue they should be able to opt their children out of instruction involving books with LGBTQ+ characters.  

According to The Supreme Court, the parents feel their right to freely exercise their religion is being violated.   

Griffith’s work, which began as a dissertation in his final year of college, will be used in the case.  

“My work is on the constitutional rights of parents to direct their children’s education, both the scope of those rights, but also the limits of that right,” said Griffith.  

“I argue that if you go back through the English and American legal traditions, parents first have duties to their kids and they need to maintain, protect and educate their kids; from that duty, they have the right or power to bring up their children according to their own religious standards, moral standards and academic standards.” 

Griffith is a professor of political science and is also an AU alumnus, graduating in 2014.  

“It’s kind of like a dream for a political science kid from Medina, Ohio to write on the Supreme Court, and then to have this go to the Supreme Court,” said Griffith.  

As he has been working on this project since his college days, Griffith feels passionate about the topic.  

“In America we really try to protect the parents’ role while at the same time making sure that citizens are educated, and then it’s just such a potentially explosive topic, it’s controversial, but I think that’s what politics is about,” said Griffith.  

As an alumnus of AU, and now a professor, Griffith credited much of his success to his professors who are now his colleagues.  

“It’s been so fun to be able to share my research with my colleagues and have their good, insightful questions and celebrate with them, too.”