Amber Lavigne has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review her suit alleging that school staff encouraged her 13-year-old daughter’s gender transition at school and concealed it from her. After a federal court dismissed the case in 2024, the 1st U.S. Circuit affirmed the dismissal in July 2025. The Goldwater Institute’s petition asks the Supreme Court to decide whether courts can dismiss parental-rights claims before discovery and whether parents have a constitutional right to be notified when schools facilitate a child’s gender transition.
Maine Mother Asks Supreme Court To Review Case After School Allegedly Hid Daughter’s Gender Transition
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Maine woman who accused school officials of encouraging her teen’s gender expression by providing a chest binder and using a new name and pronouns, without consulting parents.
A Maine mother has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a dispute with her local school district after she says school staff encouraged her 13-year-old daughter to present as a different gender at school without notifying her.
Background: Amber Lavigne says she discovered in December 2022 that a school social worker had given her daughter a chest binder and that school staff had been using a different name and pronouns for the child at school without informing Lavigne. In April 2023 Lavigne sued the local school board, arguing officials infringed her constitutional right to direct her child's upbringing and education.
Court History: A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2024, concluding Lavigne had not stated legal claims sufficient to hold the school board liable. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that dismissal in July 2025. Attorneys at the Goldwater Institute have since petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.
What The Petition Seeks
The petition asks the Supreme Court to resolve two central questions: whether courts may dismiss parental-rights suits before discovery based on possible alternative explanations, and whether parents have a constitutional right to be notified when public schools "affirmatively recognize and facilitate a child's gender transition." Lavigne's lawyers contend the lower courts dismissed the case without allowing evidence-gathering on whether a district policy or custom existed.
A protester holds up a rainbow flag at the Glendale Unified School District offices in Glendale on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.
"We are asking the Supreme Court to step in and make it clear that parents like Amber have a right to know when public school officials make important decisions affecting the mental health and physical well-being of their children," said Goldwater Institute attorney Adam Shelton.
Lavigne said in the legal group's press release that the case is about parental rights and that a social worker who had not spoken with her encouraged her daughter to keep secrets from her.
Broader Context
The Goldwater Institute noted that similar cases from Massachusetts and Florida are also before the high court, reflecting a broader national debate over how schools handle students’ gender identity and what notice, if any, parents must receive. Separately, the U.S. Department of Education opened Title IX investigations in Maine earlier in the year over allegations the state allowed biological males to compete in girls’ interscholastic athletics; the department later found Maine out of compliance and initiated a process that could affect K–12 federal funding.
Possible Impact: If the Supreme Court accepts the petition, the ruling could clarify the standards for parental-notice claims and whether courts can dismiss such suits before discovery. The decision could also influence school policies nationwide on how they communicate with parents about students’ gender identity and related supports.
Fox News Digital contacted Great Salt Bay Community School and its governing board for comment; no response was recorded in the release.
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