(LifeSiteNews) — A Maine mother has asked the Supreme Court to hear her parental rights case alleging that her daughter’s school concealed the child’s “gender transition” from her.
According to a December 22 petition by the Goldwater Institute, Maine mother, Amber Lavigne, said she had no idea that a school social worker advised her 13-year old daughter about “gender transitioning.”
In December 2022, Lavigne found a chest binder while cleaning her daughter’s room, which was revealed to have been given to her by a Great Salt Bay Community School social worker. Chest binders are garments used to flatten the female chest in order to create a more masculine appearance. The counselor agreed with Lavigne’s daughter to keep the “gender transition” a secret from her mother.
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“This situation is really about my parental rights being violated,” stated Lavigne, adding, “It’s about a social worker who had never even had a conversation with me encouraging my child to keep secrets from me and telling my child that he wasn’t going to tell me about it so my child could keep it from me too.”
Lavigne was originally denied an appeal of the school’s parental rights violation when the First Circuit Court of Appeals refused to hear her claim.
“I have three kids who need an education and I would love to be able to send them to a public school, but in the current environment I’m not comfortable with that,” stated Lavigne.
The case closely resembles a December 22 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, which rebuked the state for attempting to exclude parents from their children’s “social transition.” The court’s injunction grants parents the right to disclosure if their children present “gender incongruence” at school.
“Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be informed if their public school student child expresses gender incongruence,” states the court-ordered reminder for California public schools.
“Teachers and school staff have a federal constitutional right to accurately inform the parent or guardian of their student when the student expresses gender incongruence. These federal constitutional rights are superior to any state or local laws, state or local regulations, or state or local policies to the contrary.”
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With the precedence of cases like the District Court of California, the Goldwater Institute promised to continue the fight for parents’ rights over public schools.
“As the Supreme Court considers the case, the Goldwater Institute will continue to fight for the rights of parents like Amber and stand up against public schools across the country that try and usurp the role of parents.”