Attorney for elementary student victimized by trans classmate says school policies hurt both students

A male elementary student who identifies as transgender allegedly touched and exposed himself to a schoolgirl and other classmates, and the girl’s lawyer is demanding accountability.

Richard Mast, a staff attorney for Liberty Counsel, spoke with The Lion about the matter, which involves the Santa Fe School District in New Mexico. Mast sent a letter to the district demanding corrective action by the end of the month.

The attorney also believes the school can improve policies to help both students. 

“There’s unfortunately a lot of misinformation out there, and there’s a lot of evil in the world, and it can affect children like this boy that causes them to act out in various ways,” Mast said. “I would want to know what he’s been exposed to, what kind of internet supervision, if any, he’s had. 

“I’ve got a lot of compassion for little kids that may be confused about who they are, may have been abused and suffered trauma themselves. But that doesn’t mean that we turn a blind eye and let them victimize others. At the end of the day, living in society, boys have to conform their behavior to expected, appropriate norms.” 

School: Daughter needs counseling, not offender 

The parents of Mast’s client sought help after they met with school officials about the boy repeatedly touching and exposing himself to classmates and their daughter in particular, but officials refused to intervene, explaining that the boy identifies as transgender. They told the parents their daughter needed counseling to become more tolerant of the male student. 

“In this case, they told the girl that you’re the one with the problem and you need counseling to basically learn to live with unwanted sexual activity in your vicinity and directed at you,” Mast said. 

The letter describes how a district counselor “even claimed that it is necessary for the male student to have access to female restrooms to feel included and safe at school, downplaying the safety and concerns of female students like (the girl) who desire not to be exposed to male students or their male genitalia in vulnerable areas like restrooms.” 

Mast said there are other ways to help struggling students. 

“I’m not doubting that there might be students who are traumatized or uncomfortable with their sex or who are confused,” he said. “They can be accommodated with a single-user restroom. We can protect the privacy rights of the majority.” 

The parents withdrew their daughter from the school in November, citing an “unproductive and unsafe learning environment.” The girl faces “lingering mental and emotional distress caused by the classmate and the district’s refusal to protect her,” the letter says. 

The counsel is asking five things, Mast said: (1) to protect “gender-confused kids” from policies that encourage them to reject reality; (2) to respect parents’ rights, including notification if students are asking to be called by a different name or pronouns; (3) to protect female students and their private spaces, including allowing students struggling with their gender to use single-user restrooms; (4) to give appropriate consequences and discipline to students who repeatedly expose themselves to other students; and (5) to end district policies requiring students and staff to “address confused students by false names and pronouns on pain of some sort of discipline.” 

Pressuring parents to accept gender ideology 

In some districts, Mast said, schools conduct a “gender transition” and then inform parents afterward, pressuring them to accept it by saying their child will commit suicide if they don’t. 

Parents can be “misdirected by gatekeepers, by counselors, by social workers,” Mast said. “It’s a complex issue (but) at the end of the day, the truth is not complex. We’re made in the image of God, male or female, and parents have the right to direct their kids accordingly.” 

He said districts with pro-trans policies have placed boys in girls’ rooms on field trips without informing students or their parents beforehand. 

“That’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. “It’s crazy, and it’s beyond crazy – it’s evil. 

“It’s a problem. And the idea that we cannot reserve private spaces, vulnerable spaces for girls, to be girls-only is simply false, and it flies in the face of our history and tradition.” 

‘Religious fervor’ on the left 

Mast noted “a level of resistance that is based on ideology, almost with religious fervor,” on the part of school officials. “They believe in their position that strongly, and so they’re willing to forgo potential consequences like federal education dollars and other things.” 

President Donald Trump has signed executive orders banning males from girls’ sports and recognizing only two genders. The Department of Education has initiated lawsuits and investigations against multiple states that continue to allow biological males in female sports in schools and has threatened to withhold federal money for failure to comply. 

Mast said he was encouraged by Supreme Court testimony this month that appeared to favor upholding states’ ability to ban males from female sports, and by its ruling last year that states can “protect gender-confused children from mutilating surgeries and puberty blockers,” which have “serious long-term health effects.” 

“Puberty is not a  that you can pause,” he said. “This is part of the ideology that leads to those bad consequences.” 

He said he is hopeful the court will “put the Title IX issue to bed,” putting districts like Santa Fe “on notice that they have a choice to make. 

“And if they don’t make the right choice, then we intend to hold them accountable, and the clock is ticking on that.” 

Mast added that one reason his organization publicizes these cases is to help others who may be facing similar problems, including helping parents choose better options for their child’s education. 

“Where there’s one instance, there’s usually more,” he said. “And so if other parents have received the same treatment from the district or, God forbid, even more egregious situations, we’re available for a consultation at no charge to see if we can help them as well.”