NY teacher ‘manipulated’ 5th-grader into gender change, caused ‘suicidal ideation,’ lawsuit claims

A New York teacher allegedly coerced a fifth-grade student into a gender transition without the parents’ knowledge, making the child suicidal, according to a lawsuit filed in January.

Debra…

A New York teacher allegedly coerced a fifth-grade student into a gender transition without the parents’ knowledge, making the child suicidal, according to a lawsuit filed in January.

Debra Rosenquist, teacher for Terryville Road Elementary School in the Comsewogue School District, is named in the suit along with Superintendent Jennifer J. Quinn and the school principal Annemarie V. Sciove, Fox News reports.

The suit alleges the female student, whose identity is not disclosed, was targeted by Rosenquist throughout the 2021-2022 school year. The teacher allegedly began to use a male name and pronouns for the student without the student’s request or parents’ knowledge.

“As a result, [the student] became confused as to her gender. Despite knowing about Rosenquist’s conduct…, it took the District, Quinn and Sciove months to inform [her parents] about it,” the suit alleges.

Eventually, the student became so “distressed by Rosenquist’s referring to her as a male that she drew a picture of a girl and referenced suicide.” 

The suit also claims the parents, whose identities are also being kept private, were finally made aware of the situation in January 2022, when the school told them their daughter had drawn a picture of a girl and wrote “I wanna kill myself” and “I feel sad like a lot.” 

“Rosenquist pursued her own agenda outside the curriculum,” the suit continues. “Which, included persuading her 5th-grade students to try ‘being gay’ or being another gender even when they were not. To further her agenda, Rosenquist read and provided her students graphic books about gender and sexuality which were not on the curriculum.”  

District staff admitted to the parents that “they had no idea Rosenquist taught from a book about LGBTQ+ individuals,” that the book was “not part of the curriculum,” and that they were unaware “how detailed the book was about transitioning, surgery, and hormones.”  

“Debra Rosenquist manipulated a pre-teen female into changing her gender identity when the child did not feel any inclination to do so,” the family’s attorney, Debra L. Wabnik, told Fox News. “The parents did not learn about what Rosenquist was forcing upon their daughter until it was discovered that the child had suicidal ideations.” 

Citing pending litigation, the superintendent declined to provide any specifics, only saying in a statement to Fox News, “After a thorough investigation and consultation with our attorney, action is [being] taken in accordance with applicable laws and collective bargaining agreements. Please be assured that this has been done.”