By Alexander Wilson-
An Exeter High School youngster and his mother are suing the school district after he was suspended from playing in a football game for defying a school policy on gender identity requiring him to refer to a transexual as ‘they’.
The student expressed his view there are “only two genders”, leading to his suspension and the legal suit filed in Rockingham Superior Court 2 weeks ago, through his attorney, Ian Huyett of Cornerstone Action- a nonprofit Christian advocacy organization.
Under the high school’s policy, a “student has the right to be addressed by a name and pronoun that corresponds to the student’s gender identity.”
It also states that “the intentional or persistent refusal to respect a student’s gender identity … is a violation of this policy.”
However, the student’s attorney claims that the suspension amounts to a violation of his First Amendment rights, and a violation of the New Hampshire Bill of Rights. Cornerstone maintains EHS administrators did not have the authority to punish him because, as the lawsuit alleges, the content of his text messages in an off-campus conversation
Respect
The principle of respect lies at the heart of the law suit on both parties,as the student lodging the suit is claiming his right to free speech, but in the process disrespecting the right on the other student’s gender identity.
The lawsuit alleges the student received a one-game suspension in September in violation of his constitutional right to free speech and the New Hampshire Bill of Rights because he expressed what the suit called his Catholic belief there are “only two genders,” male and female.
The suit filed in Rockingham Superior Court through attorney Ian Huyett, the claims the student had his constitutional right to free speech and New Hampshire Bill of Rights violated by the alleged suspension, Portsmouth Herald reports.
Cornerstone is seeking damages against EHS Assistant Principal Marcy Dovholuk and SAU 16, and the lawsuit is seeking to prohibit the school district from enforcing its policy pertaining to gender-nonconforming students.
The legal issue at hand is whether none binary students have a right to referred to with their chosen pronouns to describe their gender identity, and respewct their feelings.
Defiance Of Policy
The law suit actively expresses the student position in defying the school policy, asserting that the student has no plans to change his attitude over the matter.
“(The student) does not deny that he violated the Gender Nonconforming Students policy,” the lawsuit states. “He in fact denied, and will continue to deny, that any person can belong to a gender other than that of ‘male’ or ‘female.’ … (The student) will never refer to any individual person using plural pronouns such as ‘they,’ using contrived pronouns such as ‘ze,’ or with any similar terminology that reflects values which (the student) does not share.”
Background
The incident occured after a teacher in the student’s Spanish class asked students on Sept. 9 to introduce themselves. One student told the class they consider themselves non-binary and prefer to be addressed by “they” as a singular pronoun.
The lawsuit states that a female student overheard a conversation over the issue and responded by saying, “There’s more than two genders.” To which, the student now suing the school allegedly responded by saying, “No there isn’t: there’s only two genders.”
After the litigant got off the bus at his friend’s house, she later received a text from the student who decided to address the matter.
“(The student) pressed (the student now suing the school) on the topic of gender, demanding, ‘Give me one valid reason why there’s only two genders,’” the lawsuit states. “The two then had a contentious exchange of texts on the issue.”
The student now suing the school, according to the suit, was pulled out of class by Dovholuk and Bill Ball, athletic director and varsity football coach.
“Dovholuk and Ball stated that the texts showed that (the student now suing the school) was ‘not respecting pronouns’ and that he needed to ‘respect how people identify,’” the lawsuit alleges.
Ball proceede to inform him he was suspended from playing football for a week, the suit states. He later reduced that to one game after speaking with the student’s mother, who said her son had done nothing wrong.
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Violation
The lawsuit claims, punishing the student under the school’s policy for gender nonconforming students is a violation of his First Amendment rights and a violation of the New Hampshire Bill of Rights. Cornerstone maintains EHS administrators did not have the authority to punish him because, as the lawsuit alleges, the content of his text messages in an off-campus conversation initiated by another student were the basis of his athletic suspension,
“These prohibitions restrict the expression of a particular opinion and are not supported by any material or substantial disruption to school operations,” the lawsuit states. “Regardless of what defendants may think about these words, (the student now suing the school) did not use profane or insulting language towards any person while in the school building, on a school bus, during school activities, or on school property in any of the events leading up to his athletic suspension and this case.”
“We are in the process of reviewing this complaint with legal counsel and will be able to share a statement once we have completed that review,” Ryan said.