Parents in Wyoming have filed a lawsuit against their daughter’s school district after they found out the school had used a male name and pronouns for her without telling them. Sean and Ashley Willey are both teachers as well as parents to six children, and they found out their daughter had been “affirmed” as a boy from other teachers at a school training event last year. The couple is claiming it is a violation of their family's privacy, parental rights, and religious freedom for the school to not inform them.
The school district is now trying to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that it did not cause any harm. But a US district judge has yet to rule on the case, according to the New York Post.
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The parents allege the name/pronoun change had been going on for six months and they weren’t notified.
According to a lawsuit filed in the Wyoming federal court, the couple from Rock Spring, Wyoming, claimed that staff from the district had used male pronouns and a male name for their daughter for six months between 2021 and 2022 without notifying them, per the Post. The information was revealed in a conversation at a district-wide teacher training event held on March 29, 2022.
During a school board meeting held in September 2022, father Sean Willey shared that the policy of teachers withholding information from parents had caused problems for their daughter at home and asked if the school was going to financially cover the cost of counseling for students if they were taking away the role and rights of parents to work through those issues with students.
School Superintendent Kelly McGovern, however, quickly cautioned the board and Sean about confidentiality and said that out of respect, she recommended they not discuss the issue anymore.
The parents claim the district's policy allowed staff to withhold a student’s pronouns from the child's parents.
An email from McGovern provided specific instructions to school staff stating, “If a student is requesting the use of a transgender name and/or pronoun, we will honor that request. It also is not our obligation to notify the parent of this request and we will not do so,” according to the Daily Mail.
Scott Skavdahl, a US District judge, ruled that the school district cannot require teachers and staff to lie to parents about student’s pronouns, the Post reported.
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The school district wants the lawsuit dismissed.
The Willeys' lawsuit was filed against Sweetwater County School District No. 1, McGovern, Assistant Superintendent Nicole Bolton, Principal Bryant Blake at Black Butte High School, and Director of Student Services Kayci Arnoldi, per the Daily Mail.
The school district has argued that the mother was not harmed by the school using male pronouns for her daughter, the news outlet reported.
"Ms. Willey has never been in a position where she has been required to refer to a student by pronouns she finds objectionable — whether on religious grounds or otherwise,” The school district’s motion read, according to the Daily Mail.
The public is divided on the issue.
Readers commenting on the Daily Mail story were split about the lawsuit. Some agreed it was government/school overreach and violated parents' rights, but others pointed out that the parents should have known their child well enough to know what was going on.
One reader wrote, “We Don't Co-Parent With The Government, Do We?”
“Dangerous situation undermining a parent," another person commented. "I think it is a big concern that the parents weren't looped in on what was going on especially since this child was treated for mental health issues. I hope the parents prevail.”
“Six whole months and these parents had no idea their child identified as male a child living in their household, that they see, feed, interact with on a daily basis," someone else wrote. "Seems they need to stop blaming the school and look inward.”
“If your daughter becomes your son without you knowing, that's on you. How in the world would you not be aware of something like that. Parental neglect,” commented another reader.
