Mead v. Rockford Public School District

Dan and Jennifer Mead sued the Rockford Public School District in Michigan after district employees began treating the couple’s middle-school daughter as a boy without their knowledge or consent and taking steps to conceal these actions from the parents.

Case Timeline

• May or August 2022: The Rockford Public School District began treating the Meads’ daughter as a boy, referring to her by a masculine name and male pronouns without informing the Meads or asking their permission.
• October 2022: After the district began its scheme of altering school records, the Meads discovered the masculine name and male pronouns in a document that a district employee had, by accident, only partially altered before sharing with them. They then withdrew their daughter from the school district.
• December 2023: ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit against the school district on the Meads’ behalf.
• September 2025: A district court ruled Dan and Jennifer Mead’s case could move forward to trial, although it dismissed their challenge that their religious liberty rights had been violated.
• August 2026: A district court revived the religious liberty challenge that had originally been dismissed, citing the Supreme Court’s March ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta.
• September 2026: Dan and Jennifer Mead voluntarily dismissed their federal lawsuit against the Rockford Public School District.