NEW YORK – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled Thursday in favor of a New York mother, allowing her lawsuit against her daughter’s school to proceed and sending the case back down to the district court. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys represent Jennifer Vitsaxaki in the case, Vitsaxaki v. Skaneateles Central School District, in which school officials secretly treated Vitsaxaki’s daughter as a boy without her permission.
“Parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and healthcare of their children,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson, director of the Center for Parental Rights. “When parents drop their kids off at school, they place great trust in the school. And when schools cut parents out of weighty decisions about their own kids, they betray that trust. That’s what happened here. School officials made decisions about the girl’s identity that should’ve been Jennifer’s to make. We are encouraged by the 2nd Circuit’s ruling today, canceling the decision below and sending the case back to the district court in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Mirabelli v. Bonta. We will be urging the district court to vindicate Jennifer’s fundamental right to make consequential decisions about her daughter’s well-being.”
In the spring of 2021, Vitsaxaki discovered that school employees, acting under Skaneateles Central School District official policy, had been socially transitioning her daughter behind her mother’s back for months. Without notifying Vitsaxaki or seeking her consent, and while affirmatively hiding it from her, district employees began to refer to Vitsaxaki’s daughter with a masculine name and gender-neutral pronouns inconsistent with her daughter’s sex. When Vitsaxaki discovered the secret social transition, she objected, but the district continued to socially transition her daughter anyway. As a result, Vitsaxaki felt compelled to withdraw her daughter from the district.
When Vitsaxaki confronted school officials, they defended their actions, citing district policy. Vitsaxaki’s daughter soon switched from in-person schooling to finish the school year online. During this time, some staff continued to refer to her daughter by the masculine name even after Vitsaxaki told them to stop. The following school year, she enrolled her daughter at a private school in Syracuse, 25 miles from their home.
- Pronunciation guide: Vitsaxaki (Vit-SACK’-ee)
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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