School board settles with mom who says daughter was ‘socially transitioned’ without consent
California mother Jessica Konen vows to keep fighting for parental rights.
FIRST ON FOX — In what's been called a landmark victory for parental rights, a California school district has settled for $100,000 with a mother who said her daughter was "socially transitioned" to a boy without parental knowledge or consent.
Jessica Konen said her 11-year-old daughter, Alicia, was told by her school in the Spreckels Union School District in Monterey County that she may be upset because she didn’t know who she "truly was inside." From there, the school allowed her to use the boy’s bathroom, used male pronouns to refer to her and was "socially transitioned" away from her biological gender.
Once Konen found out that her daughter was being identified as a male and socially transitioning without her knowledge, she sued the district. Her daughter has since decided to re-identify as a girl, and the California single mother vowed to keep fighting for parental rights after the settlement in which she was represented by the Center for American Liberty.
"They need to understand their place, and they need to stay in their place. And schools nowadays, they're awful. So, I'm going to fight this fight and keep fighting this fight," Konen told Fox News Digital.
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Jessica Konen said schools "need to understand their place, and they need to stay in their place."
"I am not going to allow this to keep happening to children," Konen continued. "I feel that the fight, it has to continue."
The Spreckels Union School District is not admitting fault with the settlement. But it's nonetheless a significant moment amid the nationwide debate over parental rights related to schooling decisions that affect children.
"At its core, this case is about upholding the sacred bond between parents and their children," Mark Trammell, Executive Director of the Center for American Liberty, told Fox News Digital. "Parents have an inherent right to be involved in pivotal decisions concerning their children's lives."
Konen said she avoided pronouns at first, calling her daughter by terms such as "sweetie" and "kiddo" instead of making a potentially offensive comment. Their relationship was strained as a result, but she said they are doing great now and are eager to work together and help remove "the parental secrecy" out of schools.
Jessica Konen and her daughter (Jessica Konen)
"I think it took a lot of guts for both of us to be able to open up publicly and explain what is happening," Konen said. "Parents, be vigilant, you know, pay attention. Those gut feelings you have, they're real. I feel like this just opened doors."
Ultimately, Konen feels she received justice with the settlement and hopes other parents can learn from her experience.
"We definitely are going to be at peace and be able to try to move on from this. But parents, pay attention, ask the questions that are offered. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations because you don't know what someone's going through. You don't know what they're teaching in schools anymore," Konen said. "Just be active in your kid’s lives and don't be scared to speak up."
The Spreckels Union School District did not respond to a request for comment.
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