School District Accused of Hiding “Transgender Agenda” from Parents

Attorneys with America First Legal have filed a formal federal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education against Casa Grande Elementary School District No. 4 (CGESD) and urging the Trump Administration to investigate alleging the district’s “gender identity” policies.

America First Legal (AFL) attorneys says the policies violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and urging the Trump Administration to investigate.

AFL’s complaint centers on CGESD’s “Nondiscrimination and Gender Identity” Policy, which directs staff to simultaneously enable and withhold students’ transgender status from parents. It also facilitates students’ social “gender transitions,” including changes to names, pronouns, school records, and bathroom and locker room access.

Specifically, AFL’s complaint alleges that CGESD:

• Violates FERPA by directing staff to withhold gender transition information from parents.
• Violates the Free Exercise Clause by excluding parents from critical decisions about their children’s identity and well-being.
• Violates the Due Process Clause by depriving parents of the fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children.

AFL’s complaint also notes that in Mirabelli v. Bonta, the U.S. Supreme Court held that parents challenging similar policies were likely to succeed on the merits of their Free Exercise claims, finding that such policies “cut out the primary protectors of children’s best interests: their parents.”

AFL is calling on the Department of Justice and Department of Education to investigate CGESD, require it to rescind policies that conceal student information from parents, restore parents’ full access to their children’s educational records, and come fully into compliance with federal law.

“All over the country, schools are challenging parents’ say in their children’s lives,”  said Ian Prior, Senior Counsel at America First Legal. “AFL is committed to exposing these policies one district at a time, informing parents, and protecting students.”

“It is well-settled law that parents, not school districts, have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children,” said Rachael Griffin, Attorney at America First Legal. “Policies that seek to actively conceal gender transitions from parents are illegal and should be investigated to the fullest extent of the law. America First Legal remains committed to challenging these woke policies and the school districts that perpetuate them.”