Overview
- The Supreme Court, which rejected the case Monday, left in place an 11th Circuit ruling that threw out January and Jeffrey Littlejohn’s lawsuit against Leon County Schools.
- The parents sued after Deerlake Middle School staff met with their child to draft a gender support plan using a new name and pronouns without inviting them.
- Leon County’s 2018 guide told staff to seek a student’s consent before telling parents because outing could be dangerous, and the district revised it in 2022 to align with Florida’s Parents’ Bill of Rights by limiting when information can be withheld.
- The 11th Circuit said the officials’ actions did not meet the “shock the conscience” test for a due process claim, noting they did not try to injure the student or force any action.
- The refusal leaves no nationwide rule and shifts battles to state laws and lower courts, where policies on notifying parents now differ widely.