A judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania moms against their children’s first-grade teacher will be allowed to proceed, striking down a motion asking the court to dismiss the case.
The moms’ lawsuit alleges that by discussing gender dysphoria and transitioning with her students, the teacher, Megan Williams, violated district policy, state law, and the Constitution. The Mount Lebanon School District, its superintendent, and school board are also named, as well as officials at Jefferson Elementary School.
According to Fox News, Senior US District Judge Joy Flowers Conti ruled on October 27 that the moms, Carmilla Tatel, Stacy Dunn, and Gretchen Melton, had “sufficient reason to allege their constitutional rights were violated if their claims are true.”
In the lawsuit, they claim that by providing instruction on gender-related topics to her students without parents’ consent, Williams violated their 14th Amendment rights, as well as their right to religious freedom.
The moms also noted that Williams, who has a child that identifies as transgender, “began the process of interjecting her own personal life and views into the classroom” and “explained to her students that sometimes ‘parents are wrong’ and parents and doctors ‘make mistakes’ when they bring a child home from the hospital.”
The district, for their part, was accused of hiding the fact that gender dysphoria and transitioning were part of the curriculum in Williams’ class, thereby not giving parents the ability to opt-out.
With their lawsuit, the moms are seeking to obtain a court order to stop such instruction from taking place at Jefferson Elementary, or at least give parents more say in the matter. They are also seeking a jury trial in federal court to determine whether compensatory and punitive damages are warranted.
Responding to the lawsuit, the Mt. Lebanon School District said that it “deeply values and appreciates the close partnership we have with our families and strives to be a place where every student feels welcomed, valued and respected.”
The district called the moms’ claims “untrue or based on partial truths that mischaracterize events for sensational effect.”
Reporting from The Post Millennial.
