A Maine mother of a 13-year-old girl is suing her local school board over efforts by her daughter’s school to keep her “gender transition” away from her mom.
The suit alleges that Amber Lavigne stumbled across a chest binder among her daughter’s items in December. These undergarments are designed to flatten breasts and make the female wearer appear male.
Of course, Lavigne investigated, and she soon discovered that a school social worker provided the chest binder to her daughter two months earlier. The taxpayer-funded employee also allegedly told the girl that the school would not inform her parents and she did not need to either.
Now, with the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute providing legal services, the mother is suing her school district in federal court. The filing accuses the board of violating the parent’s constitutionally afforded rights to raise their child.
Mother Amber Lavigne filed a lawsuit against her school for violating her parental rights when a counselor gave her daughter a breast binder in secret. https://t.co/sBDCp3R8xM
— Nicole Solas Domestic Terrorist! (@Nicoletta0602) April 5, 2023
Lead attorney Adam Shelton noted, “The Supreme Court has repeatedly held, over the last century, that parents have a fundamental right to control and direct the education, upbringing, and healthcare decisions of their children.”
He added that parents cannot exercise this right if actions like those of the Great Salt Bay Community School are allowed to stand.
In a statement, Lavigne said school administrators tried to justify their actions when she contacted them. They also referred to her daughter using a male name and pronouns.
The responsible parent said their actions were no accident. “My daughter’s public school counselor deliberately tried to keep me in the dark, encouraging my daughter’s gender transition and encouraging her to hide it from me.”
And according to Lavigne, Superintendent Lynsey Johnston and Principal Kim Shaff refused to turn over vital records. The National Review reported the administration cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in withholding the documents.
The outlet also noted that Schaff sent a letter to parents lamenting the school and staff members becoming “targets for hate speech and on-going threats.”
The Maine Wire said that some state public schools have defended the veil of secrecy around “transitioning” on the grounds that many parents will react negatively. Lavigne’s suit declared, however, that she never gave school officials reason for concern over her reaction to the “counseling.”
