Two Wisconsin families are suing the Kettle Moraine School District (KMSD) over their policy of allowing children to change their name and gender that is used on campus without parental consent — and despite parental objections.
One of the families involved in the lawsuit say that they had to remove their 12-year-old daughter from the school because the administrators planned to use “a male name and male pronouns to address their daughter at school without their consent and over their objections.”
A second couple joined the lawsuit to make sure that the same situation does not happen to their children.
The families are being represented by Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys.
In a statement about the lawsuit, the ADF said that the parents had to pull their child out of school to “protect her mental health and preserve their parental role.”
“Parents’ rights to direct the upbringing, education, and mental health treatment of their children is one of the most basic constitutional rights every parent holds dear. Yet we are seeing more and more school districts across the country not only ignoring parents’ concerns, but actively working against them,” ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson, director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights, said in a statement provided to Timcast. “The parents in this case know and love their daughter and are doing their best to get her the expert care she needs in her battle with anxiety and depression. We are asking the court to respect the serious concerns of these parents by ensuring Kettle Moraine School District swiftly changes its policy that is undermining parents and harming children.”
WILL Deputy Counsel Luke Berg, who is lead counsel for this case, said that schools should not be overriding parents when it comes to what they believe is best for their child.
“Schools cannot override parents when it comes to decisions about their children. Students’ decisions about what names and genders pronouns they prefer are no exception,” said Berg. “Schools must defer to parents about what is best for their child.”
