PITTSBURGH – In a civil rights lawsuit brought by a trio of parents in a Pennsylvania federal court, which alleged their civil rights were violated when the Mount Lebanon School District provided classroom instruction to their first-grade children on the topics of gender dysphoria and transgender transitioning, the parties have resolved and avoided the issuance of a preliminary injunction.
Carmilla Tatel, Stacy Dunn and Gretchen Melton filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on June 8 versus the Mount Lebanon School District, Mount Lebanon School Board, first-grade teacher Megan Williams, Superintendent Dr. Timothy Steinhauer, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Marybeth D. Irvin, Principal Brett Bielewicz and Mount Lebanon School Board members Jacob W. Wyland, Valerie M. Fleisher, Todd W. Ellwein, Andrew D. Freeman, Erin C. Gentzel, Claire B. Guth, Dr. Justin D. Hackett, Anamaria A. Johnson and Sarah L. Olbrich.
The suit claimed that Williams, a first-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, a part of the Mount Lebanon School District in Pittsburgh, violated the parents’ rights when she inserted her personal beliefs around gender dysphoria and transgender transitioning into her first-grade classroom.
Williams allegedly played a video called “Jacob’s New Dress” for her six- and seven-year-old students, read from books whose subject matter included gender dysphoria and transgender transitioning, explained that her child had worn an “Elsa dress” for Halloween 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 suit went on to say that the child of one of the plaintiffs explained to his mother that Williams had told him, “I can wear a dress and have hair like my mom”, chose to speak with one of the plaintiff’s children about gender dysphoria repeatedly and supposedly told him not to tell his parents about their conversations.
“Defendant Williams is the mother of a transgender child who, like her students, is in the first grade. While that may give her unique perspectives and views on gender dysphoria and transgender transitioning, it does not give her the right to impose those views on a captive audience of six and seven-year-old children. This is particularly true given that the scope of the Grade 1 Curriculum which is published to parents includes no such instruction, let alone such instruction that is not given by a professional counselor,” the suit said.
“Williams’ unrequested and unconsented to teaching of these topics is in large manner no different than, and as equally improper as, an unsolicited approach by a neighbor that raises these topics with a young child. On another level, however, it is far worse – because her role as a teacher gives her a unique ability to influence the young children in her class. She used plaintiffs’ children as part of an unconsented to social/thought experiment to fulfill her own personal agenda.”
The suit added that Williams stood by her actions in the classroom, actions which were supported by her co-defendants in the Mount Lebanon School District, and continued to do so in a phone call to one of the plaintiffs.
“Weeks after this plaintiff had removed her child from Williams’ class, she received a call from a private number (not a District number). Although she did not recognize the number, she answered the call. Remarkably and shockingly, it was Williams calling this parent. This student was no longer in Williams’ class. She had no professional (or other) basis for calling plaintiff. Obviously emboldened by the support from the Administration and School Board defendants, Williams first sarcastically said to plaintiff that she ‘wanted to applaud her,” the suit stated.
“Williams then voiced to plaintiff that she did not understand why her instruction [on gender dysphoria and transgender transitioning] was a problem. Plaintiff not so politely told her of her strong parental viewpoint to the contrary. Williams then said to plaintiff, ‘As long as I am on this Earth, I am going to teach children what I feel they need to know’ and hung up. Under no circumstances was this call appropriate for Williams to make.”
A spokesperson for Mount Lebanon School District remarked that the lawsuit “contains various allegations that are untrue or based on partial truths that mischaracterize events for sensational effect” and “looks forward to the opportunity to set the record straight.”
UPDATE
In a June 27 joint motion for entry of a stipulated order of Court, the parties have resolved the issue of a preliminary injunction.
“Plaintiffs’ complaint in the above-captioned matter will be deemed and considered to be plaintiffs’ written request, under 22 Pa. Code Section 4.4(d), and District Policy IF, on the basis of their religious beliefs, that their children be excused from instruction on the subject matters of gender identity and gender transitioning. Defendant Mount Lebanon School District will provide, at a minimum, one week written notice (by email) to plaintiffs of the intention to provide instruction or information on the topics of gender identity or gender transitioning in classrooms where any of the children of any of the plaintiffs is a student or in school assemblies that plaintiffs’ children are required or scheduled to attend,” the joint motion said.
“Upon written request from plaintiffs, the School District will promptly, and in no event less than two business days, provide plaintiffs with access (if feasible via email or an emailed link and, if not feasible, provision of titles to the materials and in-person access) to any and all instructional materials (as defined by District Policy IJ) that may be used in such instruction or assemblies. Unless plaintiffs otherwise notify the building principal, by email, at least one school day prior to the planned instruction or assembly, their children shall be excused from such instruction, assembly and/or receipt of information.”
For purposes of compliance with the foregoing, the School District will provide written notice of this stipulation to all building administrators in charge of and teachers to whom any of the children of any of the plaintiffs are assigned – and furthermore, it makes moot the plaintiffs’ previous seeking of a preliminary injunction.a
For counts of various civil rights violations, the plaintiffs are seeking the following reliefs:
• A declaratory judgment that prohibits the District from conducting instruction on gender dysphoria and transgender transitioning, or allowing parents to opt their children out of such instruction;
• Compensatory damages to be proven at trial, via expert mental health testimony arising from use of plaintiffs’ children as part of a social/thought experiment and/or, in the alternative, nominal damages;
• Punitive damages for using plaintiffs’ children as part of an unconsented to social/thought experiment conducted by a teacher without the appropriate training or background to do so;
• Reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in prosecuting this litigation; and
• Any and all other relief that the Court deems appropriate.
The plaintiffs are represented by David J. Berardinelli of DeForest Koscelnik & Berardinelli, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants are represented by Christopher L. Voltz and Matthew M. Hoffman of Tucker Arensberg, also in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case 2:22-cv-00837
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com