“We had a mother from Leon County, and her daughter was going to school and some at school had decided that the daughter was really a boy and not a girl. So they changed the girl’s name to a boy’s name, put on her dress like a boy and do all these things, without telling the mother or getting the mother’s consent. First of all, they should not do it at all. But to do these things behind the back of the parents and say that Parents should be excluded. That’s wrong, “DeSantis told a news conference in Jasper, Florida, on Tuesday.
DeSantis told the same story in Palm Beach last Thursday. “Her daughter was going to school in Leon County, and some of the people at the school decided that her daughter was really a boy and wanted to identify him as a boy. So they changed her name. They changed her pronouns. They did these things without “I’m telling the mother, much more to get the mother’s consent,” said DeSantis, who is considered a possible GOP candidate for the 2024 presidency.
In the past, the governor’s office has confirmed that Desantis refers to Littlejohn when he describes a Leon County mom who had problems with the way her child’s school handles her child’s gender identity.
First facts: DeSantis’s account of what happened in Leon County is not exactly what a limited number of files have been released, and the governor has continued to tell the story even after these files were released late last year. CNN received emails showing Littlejohn enrolling in school in 2020 and notifying a teacher that her child wanted to change the pronouns. Contrary to the governor’s description of the story, Littlejohn also wrote that she would not prevent her child from using the preferred pronouns or name of choice at school. Littlejohn cited these emails in her lawsuit against the school and was reported by the Democratic Tallahassee in November.
Littlejohn did not respond to multiple CNN requests for emails, which show only one conversation on a much more complex subject between a family and their child’s school. Here’s what we know about the situation.
In an email to a teacher on August 27, 2020, Littlejohn said, in part, “This has been an incredibly difficult situation for our family and her father and I try to be as supportive as we can. non-binary. Would like to go with the new name [redacted] and prefers their / their pronouns. We have not changed her name at home yet, but I told her if she wants to say her name [redacted] with her teachers, I will not stop her “.
The teacher thanked Littlejohn and asked if he should share it with other teachers.
Littlejohn explained that it was difficult and confusing and went on to write: “What you think is better or [redacted] she can handle it on her own. ”
In another email the same day, Littlejohn told the teacher: “This gender situation has thrown a noose around us. I sincerely appreciate your support. I will let her take the lead in this.”
But what followed these emails is now at the heart of a lawsuit.
Nearly two months after the exchange, Littlejohn and her husband, Jeffrey, filed a lawsuit against Leon County School Board, as well as the district superintendent and assistant inspector, over how the district handled her child’s gender identity. . In the lawsuit, the parents claim that the school staff met with their child and created a Student Support Plan that is not gender compliant with the policy. In a copy of a blank student support plan filed with the lawsuit, the plan includes which pronouns the child preferred, which toilets the child would use, and “room expectations for any overnight stays.” According to Leon County schools, “less than 10 [students] in a district of 33,000 “have student support plans.
Littlejohn claims that when she asked the school for more information, her school denied access to meetings and information and tried to hide information about her child.
“Ever since Ms. Littlejohn first emailed her child’s teacher to inform our staff about the situation, this has been dealt with jointly through clear communication. We understand that outside entities are now involved, but the family has given clear instructions to school staff via email to allow their child to “take the lead in this” and do “what you think is best,” said Chris Petley, Leon County Schools Communications Coordinator, in a statement on CNN. “In addition, our boss met with the family and committed to modifying any vague or ambiguous policy language – for which we have set up a committee and are currently working. We really hope for a quick result in this case, in order to allow the student to continue to succeed in school “.
The parents hired lawyers from the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, a Georgia- and Virginia-based organization described on its website as “a non-profit public law firm set up to defend parents’ rights to protect their children.” from the implications of gender identity ideology. ”
Littlejohn did not respond to a request for comment. Her Child & Parental Rights Campaign lawyer said she was not available for an interview.
A DeSantis spokesman told CNN that the governor’s office did not see the email exchange, but noted coverage by other news agencies that the county inspector, Leon, had apologized for the handling of the situation.
“At the initial meeting with the family, the caretaker apologized for everything the family was going through,” said Petley, the school’s communications coordinator. He did not know the email telling the teachers to let the child “take the lead”. ”
The governor’s office did not specifically answer a question about the differences in what the mother’s emails reveal and how the governor portrayed her story.
CNN’s Alta Spells and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
