The parents of an autistic eighth-grade girl are suing their Michigan public school district for using a male name and pronouns for their daughter without their knowledge or consent.
Dan and Jennifer Mead were furious to discover that Rockford Public School District had been referring to their female child by “he/him” last year, reports the Daily Mail. The lawsuit was filed on Monday, alleging that the school violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by using a masculine name and pronouns for their daughter.
Court documents cited by the outlet say that East Rockford Middle School was following their own policy by using the student’s preferred name and pronouns, but the Meads have since withdrawn their daughter and now homeschool her.
The lawsuit, filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) on behalf of the Meads, claims that school staff had referred to their daughter by a male name and pronouns for at least two months, until a school psychologist inadvertently included the child’s masculine name in a report that was sent home in October 2022.
According to the angered parents, their eighth-grader’s real name was located in multiple portions of the report, except for in one section that the psychologist seemed to have forgotten to change.
The Meads had placed “significant trust in the counselor as well as other district employees” over the years and communicated regularly with them, and still received no information about their daughter’s name and pronoun changes.
“No one with the school district told them that the school district had begun to treat her as a boy by calling her a masculine name and by male pronouns,” ADF attorney Vincent Wagner told WOOD-TV.
The Christian legal organization, which has 15 U.S. Supreme Court victories, argued that the school district violated the Meads’ constitutional parental rights and freedom of religion.
“At first, the Meads thought this was a mistake — that another child’s information had been included in their daughter’s documents,” the ADF said in a statement. “When the Meads asked district employees to refrain from using the masculine name and male pronouns, the district refused to comply with their wishes.”
“They weren’t able to help her in a difficult time in her life,” Wagner added. “So it prevented them from helping her and that denied them their constitutional rights. Schools shouldn’t keep information like that from parents.”
The Meads are seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory damages, arguing that they’ve lost income while having to homeschool their daughter with special needs.
“Homeschooling has required Mr. Mead to remain out of the workforce, which has caused the Meads to lose his income,” the lawsuit states. “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.”
“Our staff continue to support all students and their families as we work together to help our students learn and grow,” Superintendent Steven Matthews said in a statement to NewsNation.
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