The American Parents Coalition, which advocates for the rights of parents and families across the country, filed a brief in support of January Littlejohn's lawsuit in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday. (Becket)
She explained that the school "took it upon themselves to intervene and socially transition my child" when the girl and her friends became fixated on their gender identity.
Though some consider social transitioning virtually harmless, Littlejohn explained that it "goes way beyond name and pronouns."
"They sit the child down, and, in our case, it was behind closed doors with three adults that consisted of the school counselor, the assistant principal and a social worker I had never met, and they did an official ‘gender support plan,’" she explained.
In this session, Littlejohn said, the school staff asked her daughter what bathroom and locker rooms she wanted to use, which sex she wanted to room with during overnight trips and whether she wanted her parents to be notified.
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A supporter of parental rights holds up a sign during a Chino Valley Unified School District board meeting at Don Lugo High School in Chino July 20, 2023. (Getty Images)
The brief argues that, regardless of debates about the safety and efficacy of gender transition treatments, "this much is clear: social transitioning is the first step in a process to treat a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria that then leads to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries."
The group said that "even for proponents of this care, this first step can’t be taken lightly." Yet, in the Littlejohns’ case, "the local school board decided that the parents should not be informed and need not consent before their middle-school age child is socially transitioned."
"There’s no doubt that social transitioning is a medical treatment," the group argues. "Parents should be involved in the medical process from this very first step — they should walk with their children through the challenges of growing up."
Alleigh Marré, executive director of APC, explained the decision to join the Littlejohns’ suit, telling Fox News Digital her group is determined to "support parents and families and ensure nothing stands between parents and their child."
A protester with signs at a rally for parental rights (Courtesy of Becket)
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"No parent should ever be kept in the dark about their child," said Marré. "When the school took steps to socially transition the Littlejohns' daughter without their knowledge or consent, it wasn’t a misstep, it was a deliberate attempt to cut parents out of critical decisions while pushing gender ideology onto a child.
"This blatant flouting of parental rights and authority simply cannot be accepted or normalized."
Leon County Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-moms-fight-school-over-teen-daughters-gender-transition-gets-boost-from-parents-group