The parents of a Michigan student have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the school district of concealing their child’s gender transition from them, arguing that their parental rights trump student privacy as the battle over pronouns moves from the classroom to the courthouse.
Dan and Jennifer Mead said East Rockford Middle School staff referred to their daughter by a male name and pronouns at school for at least two months at her request, but that the staff kept the information hidden from them.
They said they only found out in October 2022 when a school psychologist failed to change their daughter’s masculine name in one section of an evaluation that was sent home. The girl’s name had been changed back to her birth name in the rest of the document.
“At first, the Meads thought this was a mistake — that another child’s information had been included in their daughter’s documents,” said the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the Meads. “But they soon learned the truth. When the Meads asked district employees to refrain from using the masculine name and male pronouns, the district refused to comply with their wishes. District policy required such actions from the employees.”
The Meads promptly withdrew their eighth-grade daughter, identified as G.M., and started homeschooling.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan that the Rockford Public School District’s policy violated the Meads’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion and parental rights under the 14th Amendment, as well as compensatory damages.
Their costs include a virtual homeschool curriculum that charges a monthly fee. Mr. Mead has also delayed plans to reenter the workforce to take charge of his daughter’s homeschooling, the lawsuit said.
“Homeschooling has required Mr. Mead to remain out of the workforce, which has caused the Meads to lose his income,” said the complaint. “These and other damages were caused by the District’s actions treating G.M. as a boy named F.M. while concealing those actions from the Meads.”
Their daughter was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and met regularly with a school counselor, but the parents said the counselor never told them their daughter asked to undergo a social transition at school.
CASE FILED We’re representing Dan & Jennifer Mead, whose daughter was socially transitioned at school without their knowledge or consent. The MI school district even altered official records to hide its actions.
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) December 18, 2023
When schools make it a policy to lie to parents, kids get hurt.
The Michigan Department of Education’s guidance for school districts on LGBTQ students states that “a disclosure to parent(s) [on transgender status] should be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis,” but lets school districts craft their own policies.
“Parents, not the government, have the right to direct the upbringing, education and health care of their children,” said Kate Anderson, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. “Schools should never deliberately hide vital information from parents, yet that’s exactly what the Rockford Public School District did.”
The Washington Times has reached out to the Rockford Public School District for comment.
The battle over policies against school staff outing transgender students to their families is playing out in the courts as parents seek to reassert their authority over their children’s upbringing.
In August, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland, finding that the parents challenging the district’s policy of withholding students’ transgender identity lacked standing because their own children were unaffected by the policy.
In California, Attorney General Rob Bonta won a temporary injunction in October against the Chino Valley School District’s policy requiring staff to inform parents if their children request to identify as the opposite sex.
Protect Kids California launched a drive this month for a ballot measure that would bar schools from hiding their students’ gender transitions from parents, as well as bar males in grades 7-12 from participating in female scholastic sports based on gender identity.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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