Mom who claims woke school hid 13-year-old’s gender transition suffers crushing court defeat

A mom in Maine suffered a crushing defeat in court following claims that a woke school hid her child’s gender transition from her and their family. 

Amber Lavigne, of Wiscasset, discovered a chest binder in her 13-year-old child’s room when the then-eighth grader was at a school dance in December 2022. 

Yet, an appeal for the lawsuit Lavigne launched against the school in 2023 has dismissed by the First Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Lavigne’s child said, at the time, that the binder – a garment used to flatten the chest of the wearer – was bought for them by a social worker named Sam Roy at Great Salt Bay School in Damariscotta. 

In her appeal, Lavigne argued that her claims ‘sufficiently establish the existence of a policy or custom of withholding… the district court erred in declining to address the first element of municipal liability, and her allegations established that the Board violated her right to direct the education of her child.’

According to documents, the court concluded in her appeal that ‘Lavigne’s allegations fail to plausibly show that either the Board had a policy of withholding or that the Board later ratified the individual defendants’ decision to withhold information from Lavigne.’ 

The court furthered that Lavigne did not provide ‘sufficient’ evidence to argue of a policy or custom for withholding and concealing information. 

‘None of [Lavigne’s] allegations support the inference that the Board maintained an unwritten custom or policy of withholding information from parents,’ court documents said. 

Amber Lavigne, of Wiscasset, discovered a chest binder in her child’s room when the then-eighth grader was at a school dance in December 2022. Yet, an appeal for the lawsuit Lavigne launched against the school in 2023 is revealed to have been granted dismissal by the First Circuit Court of Appeals

Lavigne’s child said, at the time, that the binder – a garment used to flatten the chest of the wearer – was bought for them by a social worker named Sam Roy (pictured) at Great Salt Bay School in Damariscotta 

‘Without this factual support, Lavigne’s contention that the school acted pursuant to an unwritten “blanket policy, pattern, and practice of intentional withholding and concealment of such information from all parents” is based solely on her “information and belief”.’ 

The mother and her lawyers demanded, at the time of the initial lawsuit, a ‘full investigation into Mr. Roy’s decision to give a 13-year-old girl an undergarment without notice, consent or involvement of her mother.’ 

They also claimed the school’s actions broke the Fourteenth Amendment by blocking Lavigne’s fundamental constitutional right to control and direct the education, upbringing, and healthcare decisions of her daughter,’ Adam Shelton, a lawyer at Goldwater, wrote in a letter. 

The school district was further accused by Lavigne of withholding and concealing her child’s transition, including the use of a name and pronouns that were not assigned to the child at birth.

The law firm argued that although students have confidential access to mental healthcare through school, social transitioning is ‘not protected by statutory confidentiality’.

‘The “social transitioning” of Ms. Lavigne’s daughter without her notice, consent, or involvement in the process alone violated her constitutional rights,’ the letter said.

‘But even if secrecy were required by Maine law, such secrecy would still violate Ms. Lavigne’s constitutional rights. Ms. Lavigne has a clearly established constitutional right to control and direct the education, upbringing, and healthcare decisions of her child. The actions of the School, school employees, and the District have violated that right.’

Lavigne pulled her child from the school, allowing her daughter to cut her hair short but still referring to her by feminine pronouns. 

According to documents, the court concluded in her appeal that ‘Lavigne’s allegations fail to plausibly show that either the Board had a policy of withholding or that the Board later ratified the individual defendants’ decision to withhold information from Lavigne’ 

The mother told National Review that she believes her daughter is still her daughter at heart and that she acts femininely when she’s not thinking about it. 

She added that she was not opposed to her daughters eventual transition, and said:  ‘If she at 18 starts taking testosterone and decides to mutilate her body, am I going to express to her some concerns? Absolutely,’ she told the National Review. ‘Am I going to write my kiddo off? Never in a million years. This is my baby girl. At the end of the day, I’m not going to destroy my relationship with my child to be right.’

‘At the end of the day, she is who she is,’ the mother said. ‘If she thinks she’s going to live a more fulfilled life as a male, that’s up for her to decide as an adult. At 13, it’s up to me to safeguard my child against doing things to her body that she can’t reverse.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Great Bay School for comment.