Help Defend the Allens' Free Speech Rights

When Blake Allen, a 14-year-old female high school student at Randolph Union High School in Vermont, had her privacy violated by a male student who identified as a female, she was understandably horrified and embarrassed. The male student entered the girls’ locker room where she and her volleyball teammates were changing.

But when Blake raised her discomfort and concerns to school officials, they not only did nothing to protect the girls, they also suspended Blake and her father for speaking up.

After Blake had expressed concerns to classmates that the male student was “literally a dude,” the school accused her of harassment and bullying, launched an investigation, and eventually suspended her.

As further punishment—and as a condition for avoiding further suspensions—the school demanded she submit a “reflective essay” and take part in a “restorative circle” with the “Equity Coordinator” and other students “to understand the rights of students to access public accommodations . . . in a manner consistent with their gender identity.”

If that sounds like “re-education” to you, that’s because it is.

All this—because she called a male student a male, and because she asked the school to provide her with a basic level of safety and privacy.

Her father, Travis, a middle school coach, was also frustrated at the school’s shocking response. He expressed those concerns in a community Facebook post, again noting that the male student was, in fact, male. And that he had no business being in the girls’ locker room.

For that, school district officials determined that Travis had “misgendered” the male student and suspended him from his job as the middle school girls’ soccer coach for the rest of the season—without pay.

Thankfully, once Travis and Blake reached out to Alliance Defending Freedom, the school lifted Blake’s suspension and punishment. But Travis remains suspended, and ADF will continue to demand the school district respect his right to free speech.

No school or government has the right to punish someone for exercising their free speech. ADF is committed to defending individuals from radical policies and officials that deny biological realities and threaten those who stand for truth.

Right now, you can help fuel our ability to defend Blake, Travis, and others who face threats to their fundamental freedoms. Will you make a gift right now to help ensure they can speak freely? Your generous gifts will truly make a difference—thank you for standing with us!