Emails obtained by CNN debunked a story used by Florida governor Ron DeSantis to defend the controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. The story involves a parent who claims officials at her child’s school changed her gender without parental consent.
DeSantis told the false story as recently as this Tuesday about a woman name January Littlejohn, a registered Republican, who claimed her child’s school came up with a gender-affirming plan for her child without her consent.
“We had a mother from Leon County, and her daughter was going to school and some people in the 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, had her dress like a boy and on doing all this stuff, without telling the mother or getting consent from the mother,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Jasper, Florida yesterday. “First of all, they shouldn’t be doing that at all. But to do these things behind the parents’ back and to say that the parents should be shut out. That is wrong.”
Last Thursday he told the same story in Palm Beach County.
“Her daughter was in school up in Leon County, and some of the people at school decided that her daughter was really a boy and wanted to identify as a boy. So they changed her name. They changed her quote pronouns. They did these things without telling the mother, much less getting the mother’s consent,” DeSantis said.
CNN noted that DeSantis’ office have confirmed in the past that Littlejohn is the Leon County mom in the governor’s story.
Emails obtained by the network shows the story did not play out the way DeSantis described as he tries to sell his controversial bill. The emails show Littlejohn reached out to the school in 2020 and told a teacher that her child wanted to change pronouns. She also wrote that she would not stop her child from using preferred pronouns or name of choice at school.
In an August 27, 2020 email to a teacher, Littlejohn wrote: “This has been an incredibly difficult situation for our family and her father and I are trying to be as supportive as we can. She is currently identifying as non-binary. She would like to go by the new name [redacted] and prefers the pronouns they/them. We have not changed her name at home yet, but I told her if she wants to go by the name [redacted] with her teachers, I won’t stop her.”
The teacher thanked her and asked for her permission to inform the student’s other teachers.
“Whatever you think is best or [redacted] can handle it herself,” Littlejohn wrote to the teacher. Later that day she sent another email saying, “this gender situation has thrown us for a loop. I sincerely appreciate your support. I’m going to let her take the lead on this.”
In 2021, the Littlejohns sued Leon County Schools, claiming that school officials helped their child transition to a different gender without informing them.
The school district denied their claim.
“From the moment Mrs. Littlejohn first emailed her child’s teacher to inform our staff of the situation, this has been handled together in partnership with clear communication. We understand that outside entities have now become involved, but the family clearly instructed the school staff via email to allow their child to ‘take the lead on this’ and to do ‘whatever you think is the best,” Chris Petley, Leon County Schools communications coordinator, said in a statement to CNN. “Additionally, our superintendent met with the family and committed to amend any vague or unclear policy language–of which we have created a committee and are working on currently. We truly hope for a swift outcome in this case in order to allow the student to continue to succeed in school.”
