The teen, according to a federal lawsuit, said they might be non-binary and wanted to change their name ahead of the upcoming school year to one that fit a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth. The mother and her husband said no, but they allowed the child to use the name. The teen's math teacher received an email from Littlejohn to stress her opposition to the child changing their name.
When Littlejohn picked her teen up from school, she was struck by a comment the 13-year-old made: The teen said it was funny when school staffers asked what gender restroom they preferred.
The Littlejohns sued Leon County Schools in 2021, claiming that school officials helped their child transition to a different gender without telling them. The lawsuit was filed by the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, a public interest law firm that was founded in 2019.
Interviews with a dozen state lawmakers, advocates, parents, school officials and others involved in crafting the measure show that the lawsuit galvanized Republican lawmakers to introduce and eventually pass one of the most contentious pieces of legislation to come from Florida. Lawyers with the Child and Parental Rights Campaign say they helped Florida Republicans shape the legislation.
January Littlejohn said in an interview that she didn't see it coming.
POLITICO uses the pronoun "they" to refer to the teen so as to not reveal their identity. The teen couldn't be reached for comment.
Some of the largest corporations in America, including Walt Disney Co., were involved in the uproar over the legislation. The measure was mocked by late night comedians and even highlighted during the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came to be a loud and vocal defender of it.
The state's first openly gay senator said that this is another stain on Florida's history. Not in Ron DeSantis.
At a bill signing ceremony at a charter school on Monday, DeSantis praised Littlejohn for standing up to the school district.
I don't think many parents in the state of Florida think that January's story is ok.
The bill prohibits teachers from teaching about gender identity or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through third grade. Unless they are age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate, the lessons are banned for older students.
The legislation requires schools to notify parents if there is a change in services for a student.
Interviews with five lawmakers show that the push for the bill began with discussions among House Republicans about a series of support guides for gay students. The Littlejohn lawsuit takes aim at a guide used by school officials.
The guides are meant to be used by schools and families to help support students and give guidance to teachers on how to deal with issues on campus. The plans can go too far to keep parents in the dark about their children.
The Littlejohns objected to the Leon guide that said that school employees shouldn't believe a student's parents if they think they're gay. It is never appropriate to reveal the sexual orientation of a student to a parent unless there is an imminent fear of physical harm, according to a support guide that caught the attention of lawmakers in Martin County. The Martin guide is being reviewed due to the new legislation.
The chair of the main education committee in the state House saw the guide put out by Martin County at the end of the legislative session and asked legislative staff about it.
Latvala became aware of the lawsuit against Leon County, which increased interest in approving a bill that would guarantee that information be shared with parents. Latvala turned to the first-term Republican from the small North Central Florida town of Williston to help carry the bill forward.
It wasn't something that he had to be sold on, according to Latvala.
The push for the legislation did not come from the Child and Parental Rights Campaign. The group gave suggestions to lawmakers for ways to tighten the language, especially with regard to aspects of parental rights.
Florida GOP lawmakers often cited the Littlejohns' lawsuit as they debated the bill during the recent legislative session, and January Littlejohn, who has also appeared on Fox News, testified during each hearing.
In this case, it is 100 percent a legislative-driven bill.
After the Virginia governor's race, where Republican Glenn Youngkin beat Terry McAuliffe in large part by pushing parental rights in education, it became apparent that Florida Republicans had tapped into a growing sense of frustration from parents. The bill started to draw attention after he heard from parents in his district.
This is a fault-line issue that the Republicans are on the right side of and it became an issue that is a rallying cry for our caucus. Eight GOP legislators in the House and Senate voted against the bill, but one House Democrat, James Bush from Miami, voted in favor.
The Child and Parental Rights Campaign brought a similar parental rights lawsuit in Clay County and is pursuing additional cases across the country.
It should be obvious to everyone that the school is not competent, qualified or authorized to make that kind of decision.
The issues of trans students and school have been spoken about very bluntly. During a conference in 2020 hosted by the Eagle Forum, a group founded by conservative activist, Broyles gave a presentation titled "The Transgender Threat To Our Kids and Our Culture."
At the end of her 20-minute presentation, which is posted online, she displayed a projected slide with the title: "The transgender movement is a vehicle for censorship and state power."
Opponents of Florida's legislation group it as one of the dozens of anti-LGBTQ proposals gaining traction in statehouses across the U.S.
The Human Rights Campaign says it has tracked at least 583 bills for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual community in 33 states this year. The group describes some of the proposals as harmful and anti-trans.
“This is about trying to erase the entirety of the LGBTQ community.”
The Human Rights Campaign's state legislative director and senior legislative counsel says the measure is very similar to the one in Florida.
This legislation and similar proposals fuel a false sense that students will stray from their identities if they never learn the proper words to express themselves or see role models in books or elsewhere.
Last week, Oakley told reporters that this was about trying to erase the entire LGBTQ community.
In the Littlejohn case, which is currently awaiting a jury trial, the parents say their child's comment about which bathroom to use led them to dig deeper about what was happening at school. They learned that school officials had been meeting with the teen about their gender identity, asking questions like whether the 13-year-old was more comfortable rooming with boys or girls on overnight trips.
The Littlejohns say that the school kept them in the dark.
Attorneys for Leon County Schools tried to have the lawsuit thrown out, arguing that the local guide to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual community ensures that students are healthy, present, and positive members of a safe learning community.
Leon school officials addressed ongoing litigation to clarify claims made in the Littlejohn lawsuit.
Mrs. Littlejohn first contacted her child's teacher to let them know of the situation, and this has been handled together with clear communication, according to a Leon County Schools spokesman.
The Littlejohns claim in their lawsuit that school leaders in Leon County assume all parents will disapprove of their children's gender identity.
Littlejohn said that it paints all parents as dangerous to their children.
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