From Judge Paul Maloney (W.D. Mich.) in Mead v. Rockford Public School Dist.:
Dan and Jennifer Mead have a child, G.M., who attended a middle school in the Rockford Public School District. The Meads contend that the District had policies that encouraged school staff to refer to students by their preferred names and gender pronouns, even without parental knowledge or consent.
{Plaintiffs Dan and Jennifer Mead believe that everyone is born with a "fixed biological sex" as a "gift from God." They believe that it is harmful to "refer[] to a child using pronouns that are inconsistent with that child's biological sex" because those pronouns "communicate a message to and about the child that is untrue." The Meads' child [seventh-grader G.M.] is biologically female and, consistent with their religious beliefs, the Meads refer to their child as their daughter, using female pronouns and a female name.}
G.M. asked the school to refer to G.M. using a different name and gendered pronouns that did not match G.M.'s sex at birth. The school followed its policy and complied with G.M.'s request. The Meads discovered this situation, withdrew their child, and sued the District and the School Board. The Meads allege that these policies interfere with the free exercise of their religion, among other causes of action. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss which the court granted in part in August 2025. The court dismissed the free exercise claim.
For more on the 2025 decision (which also did allow parents' parental rights claim to go forward), see this post. Back to today's decision:
