A California woman filed a lawsuit against her daughter's teachers alleging that they influenced her preteen to secretly change her gender. Jessica Konen filed a lawsuit against teachers Lori Caldiera, Kelly Baraki, and the Spreckels Union School District last week. She termed the teachers 'predatory' and 'disgusting.'
According to the New York Post, Jessica Konen claimed that the teachers manipulated her seventh-grade daughter to change her gender identity under the district's 'Parental Secret Policy.' The policy allows teachers to counsel students about their gender confusion and even adopt a new gender identity without notifying parents.
Jessica Konen said that the two teachers actively sought students who were struggling with gender identities and invited them to the school's 'Equality Club.' The lawsuit also alleged that the two teachers hid the students' participation in the club.
According to the lawsuit filed by Jessica Konen, at the 'Equality Club' meetings, Ms.Caldiera and Ms.Baraki would coach students on LGBT+ identities and express the same. "Sometimes, Ms.Caldiera and Ms.Baraki would introduce and push LGBT+ identities on students that the students resisted," the lawsuit stated.
The teachers allegedly 'manipulated' the preteen into believing she was a transgender
Jessica Konen is suing for infliction of emotional distress, negligence, civil conspiracy, and violating her federal and constitutional statutory rights to direct her daughter's upbringing by 'manipulating' the preteen to believe she was transgender.
"You wouldn't expect a teacher to be predatorial towards a child, that ... they're supposed to be trusted. They stepped out of their line," Jessica said during an interview with FOX News. She added that their 'tactics are disgusting' she felt disturbed by this because it is her right to parent her daughter and they took that right away from her.
Jessica noted that the teachers had a meeting with her and her daughter to discuss gender identity. Jessica was supportive of her daughter and even gave the school permission to use a boy's name for attendance.
The teachers allegedly stalked students' Google searches
Jessica noted that she was alarmed after Baraki and Caldiera were heard talking about their methods of running the club without parents' knowledge of their kids' participation in leaked audio from the California Teachers Association's LGBTQ+ conference.
"When we were doing our virtual learning, we totally stalked what they were doing on Google, when they weren't doing school work. One of them was googling 'Trans Day of Visibility.' And we're like, 'Check.' We're going to invite that kid when we get back on campus," one of the teachers said in the recording, according to the Associated Press.
The teachers claimed that the quotes were misinterpreted and were taken out of context and that the stalking part was only a joke. Both the teachers are placed on administrative leave.
