Source: Portland Press Herald
“An appeals court has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit by a Lincoln County mother who argued that her child’s school district violated her parental rights by withholding information about the student’s gender expression at school. Amber Lavigne, of Newcastle, sued the Damariscotta-based Great Salt Bay Community School Board in April 2023, arguing that the district infringed on her parental rights and violated the 14th Amendment. The suit argued that a staff member provided Lavigne’s 13-year-old child with a chest binder, and referred to them by a different name and pronouns than they had been assigned at birth, while intentionally concealing that information from Lavigne. School officials maintained that their policies followed state laws, which provide equal access to education for all students regardless of gender identity, and a right to privacy regardless of age.” (07/30/25)