{"id":2020796,"date":"2023-09-03T11:33:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T15:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mother-daughter-to-receive-100000-settlement-in-landmark-secret-gender-transition-case\/"},"modified":"2023-09-03T11:35:16","modified_gmt":"2023-09-03T15:35:16","slug":"mother-daughter-to-receive-100000-settlement-in-landmark-secret-gender-transition-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mother-daughter-to-receive-100000-settlement-in-landmark-secret-gender-transition-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother and daughter to get $100k settlement in groundbreaking gender transition case."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmother-daughter-to-receive-100000-settlement-in-landmark-secret-gender-transition-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2020796&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>A Victory for \u200bParental Rights: California\u2063 School District Settles Lawsuit<\/h2>\n<p>A\u2064 California school district\u200d that was sued over allegations teachers and staff at Buena Vista \u2062Middle School in Salinas, Calif., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/parent-says-daughter-was-coached-on-lgbtq-identity-at-california-school-4156865\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">coached<\/a> an 11-year-old girl to socially transition\u200c to a male gender identity settled with the\u2064 girl and \u200bher \u200bmother for $100,000.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/libertycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/20220614_Konen_Complaint_HT_Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawsuit<\/a>, \u200dfiled on June\u200c 14 last\u2064 year, named \u2062Spreckels Union School District, the principal at\u2064 the school, \u2062and two teachers as \u2062defendants.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Konen, the child\u2019s mother, came forward after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/leaked-audio-reveals-how-california-teachers-recruit-kids-into-lgbtq-clubs-4114896\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">leaked audio<\/a> recording revealed the two teachers telling\u200b other educators about how they \u2062secretly recruited students into the school\u2019s LGBT club at a California Teachers Association weekend conference in Palm Springs in October 2021. The CTA event \u2062was billed as the \u201c2021 LGBTQ+ Issues Conference, Beyond the Binary: Identity &#038; Imagining Possibilities.\u201d The\u2064 two teachers \u200dwere later\u2062 suspended and no longer work in the district.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related\u200b Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/parental-rights-coalition-opponents-clash-in-los-angeles-over-secret-gender-transitions-5479766\">Parental Rights Coalition, Opponents\u200d Clash in\u2063 Los Angeles Over \u2063Secret Gender Transitions<\/a><br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/24\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/california-parents-launch-ballot-initiatives-opposing-gender-ideology-5483807\">California Parents Launch\u200d Ballot Initiatives\u2062 Opposing Gender Ideology<\/a><br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/30\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ms. \u200bKonen \u200dtold The Epoch Times she\u2019s relieved\u200c that a settlement has finally been \u200dreached.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a massive \u200dvictory across\u2063 America for myself, for my daughter, and for other\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mom-daughter-to-receive-100000-settlement-in-landmark-secret-gender-transition-case\/\" title=\"Mom and daughter to get 0k settlement in groundbreaking gender transition case.\">parents experiencing similar situations<\/a>,\u201d she said. \u201cOur voices made a \u200ddifference.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While she is grateful to the Center\u200c for American Liberty for \u200ctaking\u2063 on the pro-bono case, she said\u2064 the battle \u2063for parental rights\u200b has only begun.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Jessica Konen, the\u2064 mother of a child who \u200cwas \u2062allegedly coached into a transgender identity\u200b at school in Salinas, California. (Courtesy of \u200bTrevor Lewis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI just \u200bfeel social transitioning \u2062done in secrecy is the real evil. We\u200c need to \u2062get rid of it, \u2063period.\u2062 So, the\u2063 fight must continue,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Her daughter, Alicia Konen, who is now 16, echoed her \u2063mom\u2019s sentiments, saying she\u2019s ready to \u2062put\u200d the experience, \u2063which she described as \u201cevil\u201d and \u201chorrible,\u201d behind her.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Center \u2062for American Liberty and allegations\u200b in the lawsuit, Alicia was\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/parent-says-daughter-was-coached-on-lgbtq-identity-at-california-school-4156865\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recruited<\/a> to join \u200ban \u201cEquality Club,\u201d where she was taught about bisexuality, transgender \u200cidentities, and other LGBT concepts when she \u2062was\u200b in the sixth grade.<\/p>\n<p>Alicia began \u200bto\u2063 use a male name and pronouns and\u200b wore a chest binder under boy\u2019s clothes.<\/p>\n<p>School staff finally \u2063called a meeting the last day before\u200d winter break during \u200bAlicia&#8217;s \u2062seventh\u200d grade year and demanded \u200dthat Ms. Konen refer to her daughter by a male name and male pronouns, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was definitely intimidated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Konen recalls feeling\u200b awkward\u200b and\u2063 stressed\u2063 when she was\u2064 tagging Alicia\u2019s Christmas gifts.<\/p>\n<p>She wanted to be supportive to her daughter but wasn\u2019t\u2063 ready to call her \u200cby a\u2064 male name and pronouns, so she wrote \u201cBaby\u201d and \u201cSweetheart\u201d instead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was an emotional \u2064wreck\u200d trying to process\u2062 everything. I\u200d was scared to mess up or to use the \u2064wrong pronouns,\u201d she said. \u201cI never used\u200c the male pronouns, and I\u2063 never \u200dused\u200d the name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Konen warned parents to \u201cbe vigilant,\u201d talk to \u200cteachers, and pay attention to what\u2019s happening at local school\u2063 board\u2062 meetings.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>About \u200d200 \u200cparental rights demonstrators marched through\u200b downtown Los Angeles to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mother-daughter-to-receive-100000-settlement-in-landmark-secret-gender-transition-case\/\" title=\"Mother and daughter to get 0k settlement in groundbreaking gender transition case.\">protest secret\u200d gender transitions<\/a>\u200d in California public schools on Aug. 22, 2023. (Courtesy\u2062 of Hasmik\u200b Bezirdshyan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid \u2064to ask questions. Don\u2019t\u200c be \u2064afraid to show your \u200bvalues and your opinions,\u201d\u200d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She also urged parents \u2064to \u200dget more engaged in their children\u2019s \u2062lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to fight for our kids, because if we don&#8217;t fight for our\u200c kids, \u200cthey\u2019ll fight for our kids,\u201d she said. \u201cBe close \u200bto your child, because\u200c somebody wants to get closer.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;I Wanted to Tell \u2064My Mom&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Alicia\u2019s social gender \u2062transition began when she went to \u200dsee a school counselor because she \u2063was feeling depressed, she told\u200b The Epoch \u2063Times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2062 was told by the counselor\u2014it was brought up that I was sad because I \u200bwasn\u2019t who I was supposed to be, and that\u2019s kind\u2064 of where it all\u200c started,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Alicia was \u201cpulled away\u201d from her schoolwork, and the counselor who she said was working \u200dwith the school to \u201csocially transition kids,\u201d put her on a\u2063 Gender Support Plan, \u2064known as a GSP, which required school staff to use a male name \u200dand pronouns when \u200dreferring to her, and to allow her to\u200c use the unisex \u2063teachers\u2019 restroom instead of the \u2062girl\u2019s facilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was \u2062advised by the school not\u200c to tell my mom, and I was \u2063given articles on how to hide a social transition from my mom,\u201d she said. \u201cI was extremely \u2062confused, and honestly \u2063very \u2063scared. I wanted to tell my\u200b mom, and continually said I wanted to tell her, but \u2063I was \u2063encouraged\u2062 to keep it a secret. &#8230; The school said that\u200c my mother wouldn\u2019t support me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, throughout the ordeal which \u2063lasted for more than a year, Alicia believes her \u200cmom would support her no \u200cmatter what.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe loves\u200b me. She went through this whole fight for me, and that just shows\u2064 really how much she supports\u2064 me, how much she loves me,\u201d \u200dAlicia said. \u200c\u201cIt was horrible what I went through,\u200c and not a lot of people know how it feels to have\u2063 to hide \u2063stuff from your mom, especially when you have as close \u2064of a bond as we do.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>A pedestrian sign\u2063 outside of \u200can elementary school in \u2062Costa Mesa,\u2063 Calif., on Aug. 21, 2023. (John Fredricks\/The Epoch\u200b Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Alicia said she \u200bhas felt better about herself\u200c since she \u2063left middle school and entered \u2064high school \u200cwhere she is \u201cactually \u200bable to focus on my academics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And she is comfortable with her gender.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI \u2063am 1,000 percent a girl. I am Alicia. That\u2063 is who I am, and no one can ever change that,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel free finally. I feel like I\u2019m not under control by anybody. I \u200ccan finally move forward with my life\u200d and be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Konens hope their high-profile\u200d case \u2063will draw \u200cattention and encourage\u200c other families to challenge state \u200band local school board policies that exclude parents from their children\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI \u2064think that throughout the country there will be a lot more coming forward, realizing that they were never \u200balone,\u201d Ms.\u2062 Konen said. \u201cThere are people \u200dout there who \u2063are hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The settlement\u2062 means \u2064they\u2019re both able to talk more freely about\u2063 their\u200d experience and have considered writing a book.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a complete \u200bpassion of mine to\u2064 continue to spread awareness,\u201d \u2064she said.<\/p>\n<p>Alicia said she feels \u201cextremely bad,\u201d\u2063 for\u200b other children who were \u200bsocially\u2063 transitioned at school.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s one of the main reasons I wanted to come out \u2063and \u2062speak\u200d about this case, because I want to \u2062be a voice for the people who feel like \u2063they don\u2019t have a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Konen said the school staff took advantage of her daughter\u2019s \u2063young \u200cmind and \u200bvulnerable state, which she called \u201ca\u200c form of brainwashing,\u201d and didn\u2019t tell her that Alicia \u200cwas having suicidal thoughts.<\/p>\n<p>If parents are kept in the\u2062 dark\u200d about their children\u2019s problems, they won\u2019t be able to\u200d help support them\u200b or get them the therapy they need, \u200dshe said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s extremely dangerous,\u201d Ms. Konen\u200c said, \u201cWhat\u200d if \u200csomething happens that is irreversible? &#8230; If a\u200d child\u200d only has the support\u200d of schools, what happens when \u200dthey go\u200d home? What happens when they have those bad days? What \u200dhappens when they&#8217;re confused at home?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The best way to prevent youth\u2063 suicides \u2062is for school staff and parents to work together,\u2062 Ms. Konen said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf everyone\u2019s included, then that is in \u2062the best interest of the\u2064 child\u2014not hiding it,\u201d she said. \u201cThe\u2064 secret stuff has to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for \u200cthe Spreckels Union \u200dSchool District was not immediately available\u2063 for\u2063 comment.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>About 200 \u200bparental rights demonstrators marched through\u200d downtown Los Angeles to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parental-rights-coalition-opponents-clash-in-los-angeles-over-secret-gender-transitions\/\" title=\"Parental Rights Coalition and Opponents Clash in LA Over Hidden Gender Transitions.\">protest secret gender transitions<\/a> in California public schools on Aug. 22, 2023. (Courtesy of Hasmik Bezirdshyan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>&#8216;Hard to Put a \u2064Dollar Value on It&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Eric Sell, a civil rights attorney at the Center for American Liberty who represented the Konens, told The Epoch Times the school district settled the case based\u2063 on the underlying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/mom-daughter-sue-school-district-in-alleged-transgender-coaching-case-4539279\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allegations<\/a> in the lawsuit but hasn\u2019t admitted\u200d any fault or liability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened to Alicia, Jessica is hard \u2063to quantify. \u2064It\u2019s hard to\u2064 put a dollar value on\u2064 it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But the $100,00 settlement will serve as a deterrent for other school\u2063 districts that continue \u200c\u201cto propagate\u2064 these policies and practices \u200bthat violate\u2064 parental rights,\u201d\u2064 Sell added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A California school district settled a lawsuit for $100,000 after allegations that teachers and staff at Buena Vista Middle School in Salinas coached an 11-year-old girl to transition to a male gender identity. The lawsuit, filed on June 14, named Spreckels Union School District and the principal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":557,"featured_media":2020797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2020796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/557"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2020796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2020797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2020796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2020796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2020796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}