National
Maine mom’s child’s gender ordeal cries out for Team Trump
Amber Lavigne stumbled across something in her 13-year-old daughter’s bedroom that would change their lives: a chest binder, which is used to flatten the wearer’s chest to create a more masculine appearance.
When Amber spoke with her daughter about this, she learned that a male social worker at the Great Salt Bay Community School had given this chest binder to her child in his office, instructed her on how to use it, given her advice about “changing” her gender, and told the student she didn’t need to tell her parents about any of it.
As Amber dug deeper, she uncovered an even more troubling truth: School officials had been referring to her daughter by a different name and using different pronouns — effectively pushing her into a “social transition” without Amber’s knowledge.
At every step in Amber’s case, the school has denied, obfuscated, and refused to turn over any records related to her minor child and the school social worker. To this day, Amber has been unable to obtain the records she seeks about her child from the taxpayer-funded school.
Amber’s lawsuit against the school for violating her constitutionally protected parental rights is pending before the First Circuit. The U.S. Department of Education’s investigation highlights the need for state-based policies to promote parental rights and academic transparency in public education.
