A California school district that was sued over allegations that teachers and staff at Buena Vista Middle School in Salinas coached an 11-year-old girl to socially transition to a male gender identity settled with the girl and her mother for $100,000.
The lawsuit, filed on June 14, 2022, named Spreckels Union School District, the principal at the school, and two teachers as defendants.
Jessica Konen, the child’s mother, came forward after a leaked audio recording revealed the two teachers telling other educators about how they secretly recruited students into the school’s LGBT club at a California Teachers Association weekend conference in Palm Springs, California, in October 2021. The event was billed as the 2021 LGBTQ+ Issues Conference, Beyond the Binary: Identity & Imagining Possibilities.
The two teachers were later suspended and no longer work in the district.
Ms. Konen told The Epoch Times that she’s relieved that a settlement has finally been reached.
“It’s a massive victory across America for myself, for my daughter, and for other parents experiencing similar situations,” she said. “Our voices made a difference.”
While she’s grateful to the Center for American Liberty for taking on the pro-bono case, Ms. Konen said the battle for parental rights has only begun.
“I just feel social transitioning done in secrecy is the real evil. We need to get rid of it, period. So, the fight must continue,” she said.
Her daughter, Alicia Konen, who’s now 16, echoed her mom’s sentiments, saying that she’s ready to put the experience, which she described as “evil” and “horrible,” behind her.
According to the Center for American Liberty and allegations in the lawsuit, Alicia was recruited to join an “Equality Club,” where she was taught about bisexuality, transgender identities, and other LGBT concepts when she was in the sixth grade.
Alicia began to use a male name and pronouns and wore a chest binder under boys’ clothes.
School staff finally called a meeting on the last day before winter break during Alicia’s seventh-grade year and demanded that Ms. Konen refer to her daughter by a male name and male pronouns, Ms. Konen said.
By Brad Jones
