Judge rules that parents rights were not violated when child transitioned at school

Amber Lavigne shows the "breast binder" that she found in her child's room.
Screenshot Gold Water Institute YouTube

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Maine woman who accused school officials of encouraging her teen’s gender expression by providing a chest binder and using a new name and pronouns, without consulting parents, the AP reported.

U.S. District Judge Jon Levy acknowledged his decision that a mother such as Amber Lavigne “might expect school officials to keep her informed about how her child is navigating matters related to gender identity” but he concluded that she failed to establish legal claims for which the school district, or employees named in previous claims, could be held liable,

Related: Aug 14, 2023 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that a group of parents could not challenge a Maryland school district's policy against telling parents if their children identify as transgender or gender nonconforming.

A 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 that three parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, lacked standing to challenge the policy because they had not alleged their children were transgender in the first place.

It's important to note that throughout the video Amber Lavigne misgendered her child and failed to acknowledge that they may have been suffering from gender dysphoria. She said she had conversations with them about 'anxieties' but didn't say wheither they broached the subject of gender identity.

Amber Lavigne told the Goldwater Institute, a right-wing group, that she was the victim and sued the school because she felt her 'parental rights were violated'.

Too many trans youths end their own lives because their parents refuse to accept them as they are. Much of the mother's concern is that the school helped with the child's chest binder. It is common for trans masculine people to wear chest binders. Properly fitted they are safe. But tragically many youths use ace bandages for this purpose and those have been known to cause broken ribs. I applaud the school for helping this trans child. And I hope the child's mother gets educated and accepts her child as they are.

15 states sue as LGBT workers and Trans Students are now protected under updated rules

President Johnson reaches to shake hands with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after presenting the civil rights leader with one of the 72 pens used to sign the Civil Rights Act. AP-AP I remember that day. I was six and shortly after felt empowered to tell my parents I was female. That's when the beatings began. We have come a long way but the fight is far from over.

EEOC workplace rules were updated Monday for the first time in 25 years 19th reports to now include LGBT workers.

And title IX rules have been updated to protect transgender students prompting conservative states to sue. The Republican led states where trans students rights have been specifically denied are where the preponderance of claims were filed which led to the updated Title IX rules.

Some legal experts believe the new Title IX rules — which clarify that gender identity is covered by laws prohibiting sex discrimination — are likely to withstand conservative challenges, Chalkbeat reports. In the meantime, teachers and school administrators are caught between federal law, which usually takes precedence, and state law, which can loom larger in the classroom.

And queer youth and their allies say their states’ defiance of federal law reinforces the idea that their existence is a problem and that their (state) government is targeting them.

“You already had kids who literally did not use the bathroom at school,” said A’Niya Robinson, an advocacy strategist at the ACLU of Louisiana. “They were afraid that they would be targeted for just completing a bodily function. These rules are a reprieve from kids having to experience that, and then to have your state want to undo that, it’s just unfortunate.”

In other news, LGBTQ+ workers who are misgendered by their employers or blocked from accessing restrooms consistent with their gender identity will now get additional workplace protections as a result of new guidance issued Monday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

It’s the first time in 25 years that the EEOC has issued new rules on workplace discrimination — a change precipitated in part by the 2020 Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, the landmark decision that found that LGBTQ+ workers are protected from workplace discrimination.