'Taking the Arrows’ for his Kids: Christian Dad Fired for Defending Parental Rights

By Emily Wood Hawley

Daniel Grossenbach, a Christian father of two, spoke up at school board meetings to protect his son and daughter from ideologies contrary to his faith. He never imagined that standing for his children, what he describes as an “instinctive parental response,” would lead to the loss of his job as an ethics professor.

In 2023, Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD), the district in which Grossenbach’s children attend school, came under fire when its policies promoted teachers secretly pushing radical gender ideology on students. Grossenbach knew he could not remain on the sidelines.

The tipping point for Grossenbach was when he found out the school district began to allow (and even encourage) staff to hide information about students, such as their preferred name or pronoun, from parents.

“It was a separation of the kids from their parents,” he explained. “And so, I was just advocating for all kids to have a right to parental involvement, obviously starting with my kids because my kids are first and foremost for me.”

He began speaking at local school board meetings to advocate for parental rights, and he even established SaveCFSD, a nonprofit organization focused on restoring “truth, trust, and transparency” to the Tuscon, Arizona-area school board.

Grossenbach’s defense of parental involvement stemmed from his Christian worldview but also from a “commonsense perspective as an American.” He said that Christian parents have an even greater responsibility to stand up for their children.

“If we don’t speak out for truth, especially for our kids, then we’re going to let them continue to be exposed in this environment that’s harmful for them,” Grossenbach said. “And what we’re doing is we’re letting them fight that battle then.”

This problem will continue to grow and become “far worse” years down the road if it remains unchecked, subjecting children to face such battles alone, he explained.

“And now we are putting our kids into that environment saying, ‘OK, kid, now you fight it for me when I should have been the one that fought it for them,’” he continued. “We’re the parents. We should be the mama bears and papa bears that are out there taking the arrows on this now before it gets worse and before it really targets our kids.”

His public stand for parental rights, a concept once considered mainstream, did not come without cost. A coordinated effort to silence him through a barrage of anonymous complaints to his employer that disparaged him and even falsely accused him of “domestic terrorism” led to the University of Arizona unlawfully terminating him as an adjunct ethics professor.

The fact that he was fired for standing for something as non-controversial as a child’s right to have their parents involved in their upbringing is “mind-blowing” to him.

Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit on Grossenbach’s behalf against the University of Arizona for retaliating against his First Amendment rights, declaring that the university’s discriminatory actions against his freedom of speech and freedom of religion are illegal and unconstitutional. The lawsuit seeks to reinstate Grossenbach to his prior position, restore his benefits, and award damages.

Grossenbach is not finished fighting, or as he calls it, “taking the arrows” for his kids. He believes that his story, and stories like his, will embolden others to speak up.

“We have to be more bold than those who are opposing our values,” Grossenbach said.

Grossenbach now sees some positive change in the school district, such as a Turning Point USA chapter starting and students speaking up and defending traditional values.

As for now, Grossenbach plans are to “[continue] to expose when we see things that are wrong, but also [have] hopefully a positive influence, too.”

For more from Emily Wood Hawley, click HERE.