From Doe v. Delaware Valley Regional High School Bd. of Ed., decided today by Judge Georgette Castner (D.N.J.):
Jane Doe is a freshman at Delaware Valley Regional High School in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Jane is a minor diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Unspecified Mental Disorder (UMD), and has been under the care of a therapist for anxiety, depression, and gender confusion since April 2022. {The Court refers to Plaintiff's child as "Jane Doe," consistent with Plaintiff's Verified Complaint and the parties' briefing.} Plaintiff John Doe is Jane's father. Plaintiff alleges that he and mental health professionals "agreed to take a cautious approach to Jane's gender confusion" given her mental health diagnoses and the trauma following the death of Jane's mother.
At school, Jane participated in an extracurricular club known as "Students Advocating for Equality," or "SAFE," which "promote[s] open discussion and awareness about modern cultures and topics surrounding intersectionality while aiming to make positive contributions to [the] community and school." Defendant Ashley Miranda is a school counselor and the staff advisor of SAFE.
According to the Complaint, "Jane attended a SAFE meeting and expressed to … Miranda that she would like to undergo a social transition from female to male in school." Plaintiff alleges that Miranda "immediately affirmed Jane's expressed identity and began to facilitate Jane's social transition" and "asked Jane if she would like to change her name and pronouns and be known only as a male at school, to which Jane agreed." Plaintiff alleges that Miranda subsequently emailed the entire high school staff, except two teachers, informing them of Jane's name change, but that Plaintiff was not notified.
