Wyoming parents sue school district for allowing daughter to secretly identify as a boy

A Wyoming couple is suing their daughter’s school district for allegedly allowing her to identify as a boy behind their backs.

Sean and Ashley Willey, of Rock Spring in southwestern Wyoming, say in their lawsuit that district staffers used a male name and pronouns for their teenager without telling them for a six month period during 2021 and 2022, according to the April lawsuit filed in Wyoming federal court.

The Willeys, who are both teachers, found out what was going on when Ashley Wiley spoke to two teachers who told her that her daughter had been “affirmed” as a boy during a conversation at a district-wide school training on March 29, 2022.

The Wileys claim they had no idea their daughter was being referred to as a boy at school and sued, claiming their parental rights, family privacy, and religious freedoms were violated.

They also claim a new district policy implemented at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year forced staff to use a student’s preferred name and pronouns and allowed that information to be withheld from parents.

However, the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 wants the lawsuit dismissed, arguing in a court filing on Thursday the secret pronoun and name change did no real harm.

The school district also claims the parents “lack standing” to sue.

US District Judge Scott Skavdahl has yet to rule on the school district’s bid to toss the case, although he ruled Friday that the district can no longer prevent staff from responding to a parent’s question about their child’s requested name or pronoun.

Skavdahl also ruled that teachers cannot be required to lie about students’ requested names or pronouns.

The judge also wrote the policy “creates a likely constitutional problem” and that parents and legal guardians have a right to make informed decisions regarding the education of their child.