Many parents don’t realize their child’s school may be implementing policies or protocols they’ve never seen—ones that allow (or even require) school staff to keep secrets from parents about their child.
Now imagine that one such policy told school staff that keeping parents informed about crucial information regarding their child could be “very dangerous to the student[s’] health and well-being” and could “literally make them homeless.” Sounds outlandish, right?
Unfortunately, this scenario is real.
January and Jeffrey Littlejohn discovered that their child’s middle school in Florida created a so-called “gender support plan” for their 13-year-old daughter behind their backs. The plan included referring to their daughter by a different name, using “they/them” pronouns, and asking whether she wanted to use opposite-sex privacy facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms. Again, this all happened without telling the Littlejohns. It wasn’t until their daughter mentioned the meeting in an off-handed comment that they learned that the school was engaging in what is called a secret social transition.
Such policies violate parents’ constitutional rights. They drive a wedge between parents and their children and breach the trust that parents place in schools week in and week out. And now, the Littlejohns, represented by allies Child & Parental Rights Campaign (CPRC) and Consovoy McCarthy, are asking the Supreme Court to protect their parental rights.
Who are the Littlejohns?
January and Jeffrey Littlejohn are parents in Leon County, Florida. The Littlejohns are deeply involved in their children’s education. Mrs. Littlejohn volunteered frequently at her daughter’s school, even being presented with the “Volunteer of the Year” award in 2019.
During the 2019-2020 school year, their daughter, A.G., was attending Deerlake Middle School. In Spring 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, A.G. struggled to adjust to remote learning. In the midst of this, three of A.G.’s friends began to identify as transgender, and soon after, A.G. also expressed confusion about her gender. The Littlejohns love their daughter and sought help temporarily through a school counselor at A.G.’s school while they looked for a private counselor.
Middle school kept the Littlejohns in the dark
When in-person school resumed in Florida in the fall of 2020, the Littlejohns proactively reached out to additional school staff to inform them of A.G.’s situation. They instructed that A.G. could use “J.” as a nickname with classmates and teachers if she wanted, but that she would continue to be referred to as A.G. and a female. Nevertheless, school staff took matters into their own hands, making decisions about A.G. without the Littlejohns’ knowledge, participation, or consent.
On September 8, 2020, school staff met with A.G. without her parents to discuss her gender confusion and create a “gender support plan.” The plan involved discussing (and potentially changing) A.G.’s name, pronouns, private facility usage (i.e., bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.), plans for overnight trips, and much more.
The Littlejohns had no idea this meeting took place until A.G. made an offhand comment to her mother as she was getting into the car six days later. Shocked, the Littlejohns reached out to the school counselor, who told them that she could not discuss the meeting and that they would need to contact Dr. Rodgers, the assistant superintendent for the district.
Imagine being told by a school that you couldn’t have information about your own daughter.
It wasn’t until November (and after numerous phone calls and emails with Dr. Rodgers) that the Littlejohns gained access to A.G.’s “gender support plan” and learned how the plan, along with district policy, systematically cut parents out of the process. Dr. Rodgers even told the Littlejohns, “We currently do not have any Florida specific law that obligates us to inform the parents or says we cannot listen to the student without their parent present.”
District policy shut parents out
In 2018, Leon County Schools adopted a “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming and Questioning Support Guide.” Despite being held out as a “tool for schools, students and their parents,” parents seem to take a back seat in the district’s guide.
That guide had a list of frequently asked questions, including this one: “A student has exhibited behavior in school leading administrators or teachers to believe the student is LGBTQ+. Should the parents or legal guardians be notified?” The answer: “No. Outing a student, especially to parents, can be very dangerous to the student[s’] health and well-being.” The guide goes on to suggest that keeping parents informed about their children’s health and well-being could “literally make them homeless.”
The district’s accompanying “gender support plan” likewise asks if parents should be kept informed:
- “Should parent or guardian be notified? Y/N Contact Number: ______.”
- “Are guardians(s) of this student aware and supportive of their child’s gender transition? __Y __N If not, what considerations must be accounted for in implementing this plan?”
In other words, parents who might disagree with the district’s approach about how to handle these issues with their children are deemed “dangerous” to their own children and should be kept in the dark.
A prolonged battle to protect parental rights
Over the next several months, district officials continued to pay lip service to the Littlejohns, saying on one hand that they valued and “encouraged” parental involvement, but on the other hand doing very little to make firm, concrete changes in district policy or with regard to how school staff treated A.G.
Faced with little recourse, the Littlejohns sought the help of CPRC. In May 2021, CPRC attorneys sent a letter to Leon County Schools (LCS) outlining how the school’s actions violated the Littlejohns’ parental rights. The Littlejohns eventually filed a lawsuit against LCS in October 2021.
While this was happening, Florida passed two laws that strengthened parental rights.
- In June 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 241, also known as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights.” The law went into effect that July. The bill established “a fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their minor children” in Florida law.
- Parental rights were further strengthened by the Parental Rights in Education Act, which was signed by Governor DeSantis in March 2022.
Eventually, LCS implemented a new policy in June 2022, when they adopted a revised guide respecting parental rights. Despite those revisions, the school still needs to be held accountable for violating the Littlejohns’ parental rights while the old policy was in effect.
Unfortunately, a federal district court dismissed the Littlejohns’ lawsuit, and an appellate court affirmed, leading CPRC and Consovoy McCarthy to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in September 2025. ADF attorneys filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Parental rights are fundamental and protected by the U.S. Constitution. History, tradition, and common law have long protected the ability of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and healthcare of their children. Schools play a meaningful role in a child’s life too, but they should in no way supersede that most fundamental bond between parent and child.
Littlejohn v. School Board of Leon County
- 2018: Leon County Schools implemented its “LGBTQ+ Support Guide.” The guide instructed school staff to not notify parents regarding their child’s new gender identity.
- September 2020: School officials met with the Littlejohns’ daughter, A.G., without notifying her parents. Officials also created a “gender support plan” for A.G. without her parents’ knowledge, participation, or consent.
- June 2021: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a Parents’ Bill of Rights, codifying “a fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their minor children.”
- October 2021: The Child & Parental Rights Campaign, along with Evans & Dixon LLC, filed a complaint on behalf of the Littlejohns in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
- March 2022: The Florida legislature passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, further strengthening parental rights in education.
- June 2022: The school board approved a revised guide after Florida passed new laws protecting parental rights.
- December 2022: A federal district court granted Leon County School Board’s motion to dismiss the case.
- February 2023: The case was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
- May 2023: Alliance Defending Freedom filed an amicus brief in support of the Littlejohns at the 11th Circuit.
- March 2025: The 11th Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling.
- April 2025: Attorneys for the Littlejohns filed a petition for rehearing en banc. ADF filed an amicus brief in support of the Littlejohns’ petition.
- July 2025: The petition for rehearing en banc was denied.
- September 2025: Consovoy McCarthy and the Child & Parental Rights Campaign appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- October 2025: ADF attorneys filed an amicus brief on behalf of former ADF client Tammy Fournier urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
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