A Washington father has sued his son’s public school district after officials refused to excuse the 10-year-old from LGBTQ instruction that violated his family’s Christian beliefs.
Alliance Defending Freedom filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of Konstantin Averkiev. The complaint alleges Lake Washington School District violated Averkiev’s First and 14th Amendment rights, according to Fox News.
Averkiev requested advance notice and an opt-out from lessons involving LGBTQ topics, gender identity or gender transition while his son attended fourth grade at Henry David Thoreau Elementary School. The teacher reportedly agreed.
That promise apparently came with an expiration date.
Averkiev later learned his son had participated in a Pride Month lesson that included a classroom discussion about gender-change surgery. The teacher subsequently acknowledged Averkiev’s request and admitted he “should have sent the lessons ahead of time,” according to messages cited in the lawsuit.
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As his son entered fifth grade, Averkiev requested exemptions from LGBTQ instruction, individual counseling sessions and requirements to use pronouns that conflicted with the family’s religious beliefs. The district rejected nearly all of them.
“As a parent, I have a right to decide what my son learns about sex and gender at school,” Averkiev told Fox News Digital. “He’s ten years old. I don’t want him to learn about gender-change surgery and using false pronouns.”
ADF senior counsel Kate Anderson said schools cannot force parents to surrender their constitutional rights in exchange for public education.
“Our Constitution forbids schools from indoctrinating children with the government’s views on sexuality and gender — hotly debated and sensitive topics — that substantially undermine their religious upbringing,” Anderson said.
The district declined to address the allegations directly but insisted it follows applicable laws.
Yet the central question remains: What educational benefit does teaching 10-year-olds about gender-change surgery provide?
None.
This is not reading, writing, mathematics or science. It is ideological programming presented as education, delivered after a Christian father explicitly said no.
Parents send their children to school to learn, not to have radical gender beliefs imposed on them behind their backs. Averkiev is fighting to ensure schools finally remember the difference.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
