HILLIARD, Ohio - As previously reported by The Ohio Press Network (OPN), a group of parents with students in Hilliard City Schools (HCS) threatened to file a lawsuit in federal court if the district didn’t answer direct questions parents asked school officials about their policies on sexual conversations with kids at school and parents’ rights to know about those talks, along with any concerns from and actions by school officials related to gender dysphoria.
Those direct answers never came, according to Attorney Josh Brown who represents the concerned parents. Consequently, the lawsuit was officially filed on Tuesday in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
In the complaint obtained by OPN, eight parents ask the court to permanently stop the school from allowing untrained employees to solicit private conversations — including those about sexual behaviors or attitudes—with students without notice to and consent from parents.
The complainants are seeking to prohibit profoundly off-curriculum displays and communications meant to educate about sex and gender dysphoria — and district-endorsed ideologies about the same. The complaint notes parents “do not seek to enjoin teachers, students, student groups, third-parties, or others from expressing their personal views in the context of legally protected speech.”
Specifically, parents want the court to forbid “I’m Here” badges worn by teachers containing QR codes — which parents say students can scan with smartphones from a distance — that link to a website for voluntary employee development that contains a video titled “Sex acts that don’t get enough play” and features words and phrases “blow job, fingering, vaginal intercourse, outercourse, fisting, rimming, watching porn, BD (bondage and discipline), masturbating, muffing, sexting and anal sex.” Parents also claim the badges welcome sexualized conversations and identify vulnerable students.
In a press statement sent to OPN, parents said, “The Defendant Hilliard School District is allowing activist teachers (as opposed to trained, supervised counselors) to specifically solicit from children as young as six years old, private, intimate conversations about sexual behaviors, sexual attitudes, mental and psychological questions of the student and the student’s family, and private religious practices. This is done, not only without parental consent and knowledge, but the teachers are taking specific actions to hide these conversations from parents. Although, perhaps well-intentioned, this is a recipe for indoctrination and child abuse.”
The parents also asked the court to declare their rights to be informed of any symptoms of gender dysphoria or other mental health condition the district attains from a child and that any effort to hide this information from parents violates the parents’ rights, including fundamental constitutional rights.
OPN sent an email to HCS Director of Communications Stacie Raterman seeking comment on the district being sued and inquiring about whether the district ever answered questions asked by parents concerning school policies. Raterman replied only, “The district has not seen any legal filings at this time, so we would not be able to comment.”
The full complaint can be viewed by clicking on the image below.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.