• In 2021, January Littlejohn and her husband sued Florida’s Leon County school district alleging school officials had concealed information regarding their child’s gender identity and social transition. 
• But emails obtained by CNN and Tallahassee Democrat showed Littlejohn was aware of her child’s gender identity and told teachers she knew that her child wanted to go by a new name and pronouns. 
• A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2022, and the Littlejohns appealed. 

In President Donald Trump’s March 4 address to Congress, he referenced the story of one of his invited guests to illustrate the “toxic ideologies” he was attempting to erase from schools. 

“A few years ago, January Littlejohn and her husband discovered that their daughter’s school had secretly socially transitioned their 13-year-old little girl,”Trump said. “Teachers and administrators conspired to deceive January and her husband while encouraging her daughter to use a new name and pronouns, they/them pronouns actually, all without telling January.”

In 2021, Littlejohn sued Florida’s Leon County school district in federal court claiming school officials had directed school staff to deceive parents and conceal information from parents regarding students’ gender identities. But emails between Littlejohn and her child’s teacher obtained by CNN reveal a more complex story. On Aug. 27, 2020, CNN reported, Littlejohn emailed a teacher that she and her husband were aware their child was “currently identifying as non-binary” and “would like to go by the new name [redacted] and prefers the pronouns they/them.” According to CNN, Littlejohn told the teacher that although they had not changed what they call the child at home, “If she wants to go by the name [redacted] with her teachers, I won’t stop her.” When the teacher asked if they could share the info with other teachers, Littlejohn replied, “Whatever you think is best or [redacted] can handle it herself,” and “I’m going to let her take the lead on this.”

These email exchanges are referenced in the lawsuit filed by Littlejohn, which focuses on what happened after the email exchange.

Littlejohn alleges that the school administrators then met with her child in September 2020 and created a support plan without notifying her or her husband. Littlejohn said she was initially denied details of those meetings when she requested information about them, but the school district provided a copy of the support plan in November 2020. 

Littlejohn’s lawsuit also targeted the school district’s policy regarding transgender students, saying it violated parents’ “fundamental rights.” An FAQ portion of Leon County Schools’ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Nonconforming and Questioning Support Guide said that if “a student has exhibited behavior in school leading administrators or teachers to believe the student is LGBTQ+,” parents should not be notified. “Outing a student, especially to parents, can be very dangerous to the students health and well-being,” it read.

In 2022, Florida enacted the Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The law does not explicitly mandate schools notify parents of a change in gender identity, but says school districts must “adopt procedures for notifying a student’s parent if there is a change in the student’s services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis frequently referenced Littlejohn’s story as an example of why the law was needed. 

A federal judge dismissed Littlejohn’s lawsuit in December 2022 for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” The judge said a state court might be a more appropriate venue to handle the claim. The Littlejohns, represented by lawyers from the public interest law firm Child & Parental Rights Campaign, have appealed. 

Littlejohn now works as a parent advocate for Do No Harm, a nonprofit that advocates against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and opposes gender-affirming medical care for minors.

RELATED: Fact-checking President Donald Trump’s address to joint session of Congress