California mom claims teachers manipulated daughter to change gender identity
Jessica Konen is taking legal action against her school district after two teachers allegedly manipulated her 11-year-old daughter into believing she was a transgender boy.
A California mother who took legal action against her child’s school district spoke out Tuesday on "Fox & Friends" after alleging that teachers convinced her 11-year-old daughter she was transgender and manipulated her into changing her gender identity without her parents’ knowledge.
Jessica Konen told Ainsley Earhardt she became "extremely angry" after hearing leaked audio that allegedly exposed Spreckels school district teachers speaking at a California Teachers Association conference on LGBTQ+ issues where they discussed how to implement Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in conservative communities and how students could hide their participation from parents.
Konen said her daughter felt "a lot less pressure" while learning remotely during the omicron surge, re-identified as a girl, and chose not to return to in-person learning when it was time to do so.
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"When you’re trying to seek who you are, let [kids] do it on their own time. You don’t need someone else to coach them and convince them, and she felt like she could breathe for the first time, and I’m gonna make sure she continues to breathe," said Konen.
The California mom said that she first noticed a change in her daughter when she began researching homosexuality, bisexuality, gender-fluidity, and procedures taken by transgender men.
Konen’s lawyer, Harmeet Dhillon, told "Fox & Friends" that the young girl and other middle school kids were "targeted" and "coached" to attend Gay-Straight Alliance meetings and manipulated to use different pronouns and names and hide them from their parents. Dhillon also alleges that the middle schooler was told about certain medical practices, including "binding," a word used to describe the process of restricting one's breasts with garments during youth to make sure they do not grow.
"The legal action we’re taking on behalf of Jessica is not just on behalf of her daughter, but ultimately to draw attention to this issue and make sure other families don’t suffer from this kind of targeting, abuse, conspiracy, and infliction of emotional distress that can be permanent on a young person and certainly their family," said Dhillon.
Jessica Konen, left, with her attorney and CEO of The Center for American Liberty, CAL, Harmeet K. Dhillon in San Francisco on Jan 19, 2022. (The Center for American Liberty via AP)
Dhillon added that parents should be making those kinds of decisions with their children privately, not educators who are "pushing a political agenda" with no medical or psychiatric training. She said she has heard "heartbreaking" stories from parents around the country since she started researching the matter.
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"This is predatory behavior," said Dhillon.
In the wake of Konen’s legal action, a Spreckels school district official confirmed they are investigating the incident and have placed two teachers on administrative leave. They have not responded publicly to Konen’s legal action.
Dhillon said a lawsuit will be filed if the school district does not respond.
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