A federal appeals court in Boston on Wednesday heard arguments in the case of a Maine mother who alleges the Damariscotta school district concealed her child’s attempted gender transition from the family.
Amber Lavigne claims a school counselor at Great Salt Bay Community School secretly encouraged her 13-year-old daughter to wear a chest binder and use a different name and pronouns.
Adam Shelton, Lavigne’s attorney, argued that the district had an unwritten policy that allowed school officials to take actions regarding the well-being of Lavigne’s child and violated Lavigne’s constitutionally protected parental rights.
“We have both that the child was given chest binders, that the child was called by different names and pronouns, by not just the school social worker but also by multiple school officials. What we have is multiple instances across multiple individuals and no one ever told Miss Lavigne about it,” Shelton said.
Melissa Hewey, counsel for the school district, argued that the school superintendent investigated her claims and found no violation of school board policy.
“We have specific written policies that say the parent will be involved every step of the way and prohibits staff from keeping secrets. So in order to nudge this case over the plausibility line we need to see facts that show there is a secret policy,” Hewey said.
Hewey also argued that some communications between a school counselor and student must be kept private under state law.
A federal judge dismissed Lavigne’s complaint, prompting an appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.