In People of the State of New York v. Niagara-Wheatfield Central School District, (2d Cir. 2024), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed when a state can establish standing pursuant to the parens patriae doctrine, and, in particular, the contours of the requirement that a state show that there has been an injury to a substantial segment of the state's population. 

In an opinion authored by Circuit Judge Robert D. Sack and joined by Circuit Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam, with a separate concurrence by Circuit Judge José A. Cabranes, the court held that it is not necessary for a state to show enforcement of an injurious policy or practice against a target population to establish parens patriae standing.  It therefore held that New York had parens patriae standing to pursue a case against a school district even though its claim was based on four factually distinct instances of inaction by the district in response to reports of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence and bullying.