11th Circuit Court Finds Florida School Was Not Obligated to Forcibly Out Trans Students
“Children do not give up their constitutional rights by enrolling in public school.”
Federal judges in the Eleventh Circuit have found that Leon County Schools did not violate the parental rights of Jeffrey and January Littlejohn, the parents of a Florida student, when school staff met with the thirteen-year-old about using a preferred name and pronouns.
In an opinion authored by Judge Robin Rosenbaum, the court said that the district was bound by reasonable expectations to not “shock the conscience,” a legal doctrine used to determine whether someone acted with unusual cruelty or malice; a bar that the district’s actions did not clear, Rosenbaum writes.
“Defendants did not force the child to attend a Student Support Plan meeting [to discuss gender accommodations], to not invite the Littlejohns to that meeting, or to socially transition at school,” the opinion said. “In fact, Defendants did not force the Littlejohns’ child to do anything at all.”
At the time, district policies dictated that parents would not be informed of a child’s “social transition” without the student’s consent, which is commonly considered to be best practice in order to protect LGBTQ students from abuse.
Judge Kevin Newsom, a Trump appointee, wrote in his concurring opinion that while he disagreed with the school’s parental notification policy on moral grounds, such rulings are not based on “whether the defendants’ conduct was shameful, but rather whether it was unconstitutional.”
The landmark case sets a critical, although not universally binding, precedent: It reinforces the idea that schools are not inherently violating parental rights by safeguarding the identities of their LGBTQ students, even and especially when their parents are non-supportive.
Dozens of bills across the country have sought to legally mandate forced outing in schools. Countless more districts have tried to do so at the local level.
“These forced outing bills claim to protect parents’ rights, but they do no such thing,” said Harper Seldin, staff attorney at the ACLU, in a 2023 commentary. “Instead, these bills endanger trans students, who have the right not to be outed and to be treated with dignity and respect [...] Children do not give up their constitutional rights by enrolling in public school.”
Many Americans may be familiar with the Littlejohn’s case after President Donald Trump recounted a bastardized version of the story in his March 4 speech to a joint session of Congress.
"A few years ago, January Littlejohn and her husband discovered that their daughter's school had secretly socially transitioned their 13-year-old," Trump said, misgendering the child. "Teachers and administrators conspired to deceive January and her husband while encouraging her daughter to use a new name and pronouns, they/them pronouns actually, all without telling January."
In reality, evidence shows that the Littlejohns already knew about their child’s pronoun and name preferences. Littlejohn allegedly emailed a teacher that she and her husband were aware the student was "currently identifying as non-binary" and “prefers the pronouns they/them." According to CNN, Littlejohn told the teacher that they had not changed what they call the child at home, but said if the child requested a different name and pronouns among teachers, "I won’t stop her."
Then, Littlejohn alleges, school officials met with the child and created “a support plan” without notifying her or her husband. She found out about the meeting when her child said “it was funny” that they’d been asked what restroom they wished to use going forward, in accordance with district guidelines for trans and nonbinary students.
This was the impetus for the Littlejohns’ lawsuit against the district that following year. They were represented by the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, a conservative public interest law firm. The Littlejohns’ story has been heavily cited by Governor Ron DeSantis as an anecdote supporting the enactment of the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“The court concluded that merely acting contrary to parents’ wishes is nowhere near the bar of unconstitutionality,” Jon Harris Maurer, Equality Florida’s Public Policy Director, told Erin in the Morning. “Our schools are supposed to be environments that support students so they can thrive, and that’s what happened here.”
You can see a copy of the court ruling here:
Erin In The Morning would like to thank Folx Health for sponsoring our reporting. At a time when access to trans healthcare is under attack, FOLX Health is making sure the transgender community gets the care they deserve. FOLX provides expert, affirming virtual care—including gender-affirming hormone therapy (HRT), mental health care, therapy, and primary care—designed by and for LGBTQIA+ people. No gatekeeping, no judgment—just providers who understand you and a community that has your back. Along with healthcare, FOLX members get access to a private community platform built for connection, support, and resources. If this sounds like it could be good for you or someone you care about, visit folxhealth.com/erinreed.
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Thank you for making sure we are informed about this, Erin!! I am so happy to learn that the court ruled in favor of upholding this child’s constitutional rights. If CNN is correct that January told the school that if the child requested a different name and pronouns among teachers, she wouldn’t stop them, then that’s rather confusing that she then turned around and was upset over the meeting. I’m also surprised to hear that a judge appointed by Trump arrived at a conclusion that supported the child as well! Let’s hope the court continues to rule in a way that upholds and affirms the rights and dignity of the transgender community!!