A new lawsuit filed last week against the largest school district in the state of Arizona claims that the district gave its students specific instructions on how to hide their so-called “gender transition” from their own parents.
According to Just The News, the suit was filed in the Maricopa County Superior Court by Rachel Walden, a member of the Mesa Public Schools (MPS) school board, against MPS and Superintendent Andi Fourlis. Walden, who is being represented by America First Legal (AFL), the legal group founded by former Trump aide Stephen Miller, claims that the district developed plans to circumvent the Arizona Parents’ Bill of Rights in order to continue pushing its pro-transgender agenda.
Walden further revealed that the board “never voted to adopt or authorize” the gender transition policy, “or any of its constituent elements,” in the first place, despite the policy’s heading being dated as August of 2015. The policy is all-encompassing, including students’ access to such facilities as restrooms, locker rooms, “overnight trips,” and “gendered activities,” including sports. The policy previously required the consent of the parents, but has since been revised to be “explicit and in writing” that students alone can determine whether or not the school informs their parents.
The lawsuit was filed on November 20th, and a judge was assigned to the case on Monday.
“The latest version of the policy only requires parental notification after MPS has started helping a student to socially transition in school, and it’s not even clear whether those notifications are really happening,” AFL said in a statement.
The Arizona Education Association described the lawsuit as “just so gross” in a post on X, claiming that “these constant attacks on LGBTQ kids & educators accomplish nothing — except advancing an extreme political agenda.”
Walden, who was elected to the school board last year, has been outspoken on transgender issues in particular, frequently criticizing schools that implement pro-transgender policies. Walden said that MPS made the revisions to its transgender policy this summer after “controversy arose in the local community,” and that the move was a deliberate effort “to obfuscate the policy” and give students a “more subtle way” to avoid notifying their own parents.
Transgenderism, the false and scientifically-debunked belief that there are more than two genders, and that anyone can simply choose to change their gender at any given time, has remained one of the dominant issues in the ongoing battle over school boards across the country since it first rose to prominence in 2021. Despite a disappointing performance by Republican statewide candidates in Arizona in 2022, one of the few victors was Tom Horne (R-Ariz.), who was narrowly elected as Superintendent of Public Instruction, defeating incumbent Kathy Hoffman (D-Ariz.).
Start the discussion at community.amgreatness.com