A court just ruled that the parents of a daughter who attended a middle school in Rockford Public Schools in Michigan can move forward with their case against the school district and the school board.
The confused girl told the school to call her by a male name and to use male pronouns. She asked the school to keep her “transition” from her parents, Dan and Jennifer Mead, and the school complied. The parents found out by accident.
According to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), their legal counsel, they found out what was going on after an employee forgot to remove the “transitioning” information from a report about their daughter before sharing the report with the parents.
In the lawsuit, the parents accused the school of violating their constitutional rights. The court rejected the defendants’ motion to dismiss the parents’ rights and due process claims. An excerpt from the court’s ruling (PDF):
The complaint contains sufficient factual allegations to support a claim for a violation of Plaintiffs’ fundamental rights as parents in the care, custody and control of their child, a right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.
The court dismissed the parents’ free exercise of religion claim.
“Parents have the right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children—without government interference,” said Kate Anderson, ADF senior counsel. She added that the school district policy “required altering official records to conceal the district’s actions. By intentionally concealing this information from the Meads, the school district violated their constitutional right as parents to make decisions about their daughter’s upbringing, education, and healthcare. We will continue to work toward final victory for the Mead family.”
Photo credit: Alliance Defending Freedom
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