A Californian school district has agreed to pay A$150,000 to a mother who claimed her daughter was given a new gender identity at school. CBN News reports the case is being hailed as a landmark victory for parental rights.
Jessica Konen sued the school for allegedly socially transitioning her 11-year-old daughter Alicia without informing her or getting her permission. “I decided to actually go public with the story because I knew that I needed to fight for her, I needed to be able to provide that parental guidance that she needed. I wanted to protect her and I wanted to be there for her,” Ms. Konen told Fox News Digital.
The Spreckels Union School District in Monterey County settled with Ms. Konen who accused staff of recruiting the child into an ‘equality club’ and encouraging her to become a boy and allegedly telling the child that she may be upset because she didn’t know who she “truly was inside.” From there, she alleged the school allowed Alicia to use the boy’s bathroom, to use male pronouns and ‘socially transition’ away from her biological gender.
Once Ms. Konen found out that her daughter was being identified as a male and socially transitioning without her knowledge, she sued the school district and enlisted the Center for American Liberty for guidance and support. “I feel that parents should be involved in anything their child goes through, I think the parent should be involved. It’s up to me, you know, to be able to guide her in that direction. That’s what my parental right is,” the mother asserted.
She urged educators to stop keeping things from parents because it “creates division within families” and “stops the bond that you make with your children. You parents have the right to raise your own kids,” Jessica asserted on Fox News Digital.
Since being removed from the school, Alicia has reverted back to her biological identity. Now a teenager, she explained: “After COVID hit, I ended up being out of the control of the school, and I really figured out that who the school said I was, I was not. That I was a girl, and I was Alicia. It was eye-opening to me because I had an identity for so long that was false.”
Mark Trammell, executive director of the Center for American Liberty said: “This type of incident, these are happening in schools across the country, and I think schools are going to wake up and realise there is a financial liability at stake here. Parental secrecy policies you might expect in a place like California, but you don’t expect it in Middle America, but I can tell you, our offices have had calls from, I think probably all 50 states.” He said the Konens’ case was about upholding the sacred bond between parents and children.
Jessica Konen’s advice to parents who might find themselves in similar situations and being kept in the dark about what’s happening at school, is to follow their intuition if they feel “something’s wrong” with their child. “Be vigilant inside the classrooms, pay attention to their behaviour when they come home. Are they acting different? Be involved. Just be active in your kid’s lives and don’t be scared to speak up. Ask the questions that are uncomfortable,” she said.
The judge ordered that her case be dismissed with prejudice meaning it cannot be refiled. He approved the settlement as a compromise between the parties which does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing, specifically stating that the school district denies any liability.
Photo: Center For American LIberty
