Represented by First Liberty Institute, the parents from Encinitas Union School District filed a complaint alleging a teacher at La Costa Heights Elementary hid a gender identity lesson from parents and then refused to allow parents to pull their children.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of California, was first reported by radio host Todd Starnes.
AFN first reported on the controversy in June. That was when California Family Council, a conservative pro-family group, released a detailed article that described the ongoing fight of one of the parents, Carlos Encinas. Now a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, the father described how his fifth-grade son was forced to watch a read-along video for “My Shadow is Pink,” a transgender-themed children’s book.
The transgender-friendly lesson was not disclosed to La Costa Heights parents, the father said, and he only found out because his son was complaining about being paired with a kindergartner for a "Kinderbuddy" program.
After news of the book reading spread, a standing-room-only school board meeting in May was filled with outraged parents. After speaking out, the parents watched the school board refuse to adopt a parental notification and an opt-out policy.
“We the people have the freedom to opt-out,” one outraged parent told the school board. “We are going to opt-out as Christians. If you don’t accept our opt-out, we’ll see you in court.”
In the federal lawsuit, the parents' Christian faith is similarly cited as the main reason they object to what is happening at La Costa Heights Elementary.
"Plaintiff Parents believe the School District should not encourage their
minor children to question their God-given sex or gender," the complaint states, "or urge other students to do so, as this would force their children to betray their own religious beliefs."
Brad Dacus, who leads Pacific Justice Institute, tells AFN the school district has now been exposed for its goal, which is to “secretly groom” little children.
The fact the school is ignoring parents, Dacus says, is an “egregious abridgement to the fundamental rights of parents over their children."
The 57-page lawsuit names as defendants Encinitas Union superintendent and an assistant superintendent; the La Costa Heights principal; two La Costa Heights teachers; and the five Encinitas Union school board members.
