Angry Dad Files Federal Lawsuit Against School District Over Policy of Hiding Student 'Gender Transitions'
A New Jersey father is suing a school district over its policy of hiding the purported “gender transitions” of students from their parents.
Frederick Short Jr. filed suit in federal court against the Cherry Hill Township School District and the New Jersey Department of Education on Oct. 12.
State Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The New Jersey Department of Education’s guidelines regarding transgenderism state that schools are not required to inform parents if their child begins “identifying” as the opposite sex.
“A school district shall accept a student’s asserted gender identity; parental consent is not required,” the guidelines say.
“There is no affirmative duty for any school district personnel to notify a student’s parent or guardian of the student’s gender identity or expression.”
Short’s lawsuit says the state’s guidance violates parents’ rights and is unhealthy for children.
“Extended secrecy and a ‘double life’ concealed from the parents is rarely the path to psychological health,” the suit says, citing Dr. Stephen Levine, a professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University.
Short, who has three high school-age children in the Cherry Hill Township School District, aims to compel the district — and public schools across New Jersey — to notify parents if their child wishes to “transition.”
“I would feel pretty bad for a parent if their child lived a double life,” the father told NJ.com. “Everyone always says parents would be mad at the kid or beat up the kid, but I’d be so mad at the school.”
The suit follows previous litigation in which Wisconsin parents challenged a school district’s policy of referring to transgender-identifying students by their preferred pronouns without parental consent.
A Waukesha County judge ruled in the parents’ favor and overturned the policy early this month, according to The Freeman.
Last year, a California mother sued a school district for secretly facilitating and encouraging her sixth-grade daughter’s “gender transition.” She received a $100,000 settlement in the case last month.
The Cherry Hill Township School District and the state of New Jersey have two months to respond to Short’s lawsuit, according to NJ.com.
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