ROCKFORD, Mich. — Rockford parents filed a federal lawsuit this week against their child's school district, claiming the school kept their child's change in preferred pronouns and name from them.
The Alliance Defending Freedom filed the suit on behalf of the parents, Dan and Jennifer Mead, against Rockford Public School District.
The Alliance Defending Freedom is a conservative Christian legal organization on the national stage, often arguing cases in the Supreme Court.
The suit claims that the district not sharing this information with the parents violates the U.S. Constitution.
13 ON YOUR SIDE asked the Meads if they'd like to talk further about their lawsuit. Although we did not hear back from them, their attorney's said they would speak on their behalf.
The attorneys said they are seeking damages related to the cost of pulling their child out of school as well as asking the court to declare the school's policy as a violation of the parents' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
"The father was visiting a school employee in a meeting about their daughter's education. And he was sent a document home that one of the document referred to a boy with a different name. And they emailed that school employee and said, 'Hey, I think we got somebody else's paperwork.' And it turned out that no, that that was how the school was treating their daughter at school as a boy, and that employee had been altering the paperwork failed to delete this one reference to the boy's name that the school had been using for her. So, it was really an inadvertent revelation of deliberate concealing of this information from the Meads," Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom Vincent Wagner said.
"This was just a total breakdown in the trust that the Meads had placed in the school district. that they think like most parents, that when their kid is at school, they're going to know what's going on, and the school is not going to keep information from them. And that concealing of the information is the constitutional violation here."
The parents also claim when they asked the district to stop calling their child by their preferred pronouns and name, and to call their child by their birth name-- the district refused.
In the suit, the Meads say their religious beliefs teach them that there are only two genders, and that "each of us is born with a fixed biological sex that is a gift from God, not an arbitrary imposition subject to change."
They also do not believe in using their child's preferred pronouns that are different from what they were assigned at birth.
13 ON YOUR SIDE reached out to Rockford Public Schools for a comment on the litigation, and Superintendent Steve Matthews shared this statement:
"We actually have not been served with any legal documents. I assume that they are coming.
So, for now, our comment would be that we have no comment at this time because we have not been given notice of this legal proceeding.
It seems they have gone to the media and not to us with this legal proceeding.
At some point we will comment but right now we have no information so we will refrain from discussing this issue right now," Matthews said.
Roz Gould Keith, the founder and Executive Director of Stand With Trans, said that a student asking their teachers at school to use a different name or pronouns is akin to nicknames, and has nothing to do with their education.
"I personally applaud the school for honoring the student's request, because they're providing a safe space for that particular student. And when a child spends so many hours out of their day in school, that should be the safest space they could be all day long. And you know, we have statistics, I can share with you that when youth are in school and clinical settings, when young people transgender youth are much more likely to experience depressive symptoms or depression 41% to 11.8%, and this is compared to their cisgender and heterosexual peers," Keith said.
"More importantly, these youth are statistically more likely to self-harm. To attempt suicide to have suicidal thoughts, and only 1/3 of transgender youth report that their home is gender-affirming."
She said these types of requests concerning gender expression do not interfere with parents' rights.
"But we're talking specifically about a school using a child's pronouns and chosen name in the school while they're in school. And that is 100%, the right thing to do. Several years ago, the state of Michigan's Board of Ed handed down a set of guidances to all Michigan schools. It isn't law, but they provided every district with these guidances and said, Here are answers to all of your questions regarding gender, and names and pronouns and bathrooms," she said.
"And in there, you'll find that they recommend that schools honor a child's request. And that's the way to raise a healthy happy child."
Jay Kaplan, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan's LGBTQ+ Project, shares some context of why a school might not share certain things with parents.
He says children, even minors do have rights to privacy, and courts in the past have recognized that right to privacy when it comes to disclosing their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
"I mean, I think the law is pretty clear. Certainly, courts have recognized the right of parental autonomy, but that's not absolute. There are certain situations where the government, the interest, the compelling interest, and looking out for the safety and welfare of a child, that takes precedence over a situation like that. Our courts have recognized situations where disclosure of a child's sexual orientation or their gender identity has caused harm to them," Kaplan said.
"I think it's important to talk this out and to look at the different interests that are there and to always keep the focus on what's in the best interest of the child. I believe that a school district that's doing all they can to ensure that a child is both safe and supported at school, and examining what might be the ramifications if that information was shared at home. I think they're within their own legal rights to do so."
You can read the lawsuit filed here.
Many health professionals, including the CDC, say that LGBTQ+ youth are at a greater risk for poor mental health and violence than their non-LGBTQ+ peers.
Schools that implement supportive policies improve health outcomes, the CDC reports.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, know there is help available to you.
Organizations like The Trevor Project offer trained counselors who understand LGBTQ challenges.
The Michigan Crisis Access Line offers 24/7 help and answers calls to 988. You can also text 988 for help.
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