In Pennsylvania, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit filed by a group of parents against a school for allegedly teaching transgenderism to first-grade students will be allowed to proceed.
Fox News reports that in her ruling, U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti rejected a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, determining that the parents in question had a right to allege that, if they are right in their accusations, their constitutional rights have been violated as a result of the school’s lesson.
The lawsuit, Tatel v. Mt. Lebanon School District, was filed in June by three mothers: Stacey Dunn, Gretchen Melton, and Carmilla Tatel. The women are seeking a court order to stop the teaching of transgenderism and “gender identity” at Pittsburgh’s Jefferson Elementary School, which is part of the Mount Lebanon School District. The suit also requests that the case be heard by a federal jury to determine punitive damages for which the parents should be compensated.
According to the lawsuit, first-grade teacher Megan Williams violated their rights as parents as a result of her “direct classroom instruction” about transgenderism, as well as her assigning books on the subject. The mothers allege that Williams told the students that their parents were wrong about their genders, and encouraged the students to keep the discussion a secret from their parents. The lawsuit also claims that Williams targeted at least one boy in particular for sexual grooming, trying to convince him that he is actually a girl.
Conti’s ruling on October 27th, as a result of court guidance, was made under the assumption that the allegations were true; from there, Conti had to decide whether or not the allegations would constitute violations of the parents’ rights over their children. As such, basing her decision off of precedent set by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Conti allowed the lawsuit to proceed.
In response to the decision, a spokeswoman for the school district declared that “the complaint filed against the district, its board and employees contains various allegations that are untrue or based on partial truths that mischaracterize events for sensational effect. The district looks forward to the opportunity to set the record straight.”