School helped child transition with new pronouns, Michigan parents say. They’re suing
_fitted.png "Parents of a Michigan child are suing a school district after they say the school helped their child “socially transition” without their consent.")
Parents of a Michigan child are suing a school district after they say the school helped their child “socially transition” without their consent.
The couple filed a lawsuit against the Rockford Public School District and its board of education on Dec. 18.
The parents say school officials were referring to their child, who was assigned female at birth, with male pronouns and a “masculine name” at school without getting the parents’ consent.
Steve Matthews, superintendent of Rockford Public Schools, told McClatchy News the district has not received any notice of the lawsuit filing as of Dec. 19.
Matthews said the district has no comment at this time and that “it seems they have gone to the media and not to us with this legal proceeding.”
McClatchy News is not naming the parents to protect the identity of the child.
‘Is this an error?’
The parents withdrew the child, then an eighth grader, from the school in October 2022.
This came after the parents received a document referring to their child with a different name and male pronouns, the lawsuit said.
Between January 2021 and October 2022, the child saw a school guidance counselor on at least 28 occasions, according to the lawsuit.
The parents were grateful to the guidance counselor, telling her, “thanks for talking with (the child). (The child) feels safe talking with you,” court records say.
At the request of the child, the guidance counselor went on to notify other school staff that the child wanted to be called a different, masculine name and be referred to with male pronouns, according to the lawsuit.
Although school staff began to refer to the child this way in school, on documents and in emails, the staff used female pronouns and the child’s legal name when talking to the parents, the suit says.
However, on Oct. 10, the parents received an evaluation document for the child that had the masculine name on it, according to the lawsuit.
“I read through the teacher notes… (The) notes were for a boy… Is this an error?” the mother responded to school officials after reading the document.
‘Delete all references’
The lawsuit says the teacher intended to “delete all references” to the masculine name and replace it with the child’s legal name and female pronouns before giving the document to the parents.
It goes on to say school officials altered documents sent to the parents by removing the male pronouns and masculine name. They “deliberately changed (the child’s) school records to conceal the fact that the district was treating (the child) as a boy without their knowledge,” the lawsuit said.
After finding out this information, and before deciding to withdraw the child, the parents say the child came home from school with a book from the counselor called “Heartstopper,” which is about two boys who become romantically involved with each other.
“It contains many instances of profanity and crude anatomical references, along with visual depictions of one teenage boy physically assaulting and later forcibly kissing another teenage boy without his consent,” the lawsuit says.
‘Socially transition’
The lawsuit says the district “recklessly attempted to ‘socially transition’” the child without the parents’ knowledge or consent.
The school district’s policy states school employees do not need to notify parents or ask their permission when using different names or pronouns for a student, the lawsuit said.
“When students have not come out to their parent(s), a disclosure to parent(s) should be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis, school districts should consider the health, safety, and well-being of the student, as well as the responsibility to keep parents informed. Privacy considerations may vary with the age of the students,” the policy says, according to the lawsuit.
Rockford is about 15 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.
This story was originally published December 19, 2023 at 12:50 PM with the headline "School helped child transition with new pronouns, Michigan parents say. They’re suing."
