Hilliard City Schools says parents' lawsuit over LGBTQ issues based on 'rumor,' 'innuendo'

Hilliard City Schools has asked a federal judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit brought by eight parents against the district over teachers' handling of LGBTQ+ issues.

The district argues in a motion filed with the court Monday that the parents lack standing to bring a claim because they have not been harmed.

"The (parents') complaint consists of thread-bare assertions, innuendo, rumor, and spurious legal conclusions," wrote Jessica Philemond, a Columbus attorney specializing in representing school districts, in the filing.

Philemond also points out that the parents' complaint is full of inaccuracies and "riddled with careless mistakes" that should lead a judge to dismiss the case.

Among the errors, Philemond states, is that it is established law that somebody suing a school district must sue the school board, which the parents did not do.

A spokesperson for the district declined to comment.

Going deeper:Few Franklin County school districts have policies on gender identity, transgender students

Hilliard attorney Joshua J. Brown filed the complaint last week on behalf of the eight parent plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are: Rachel Kattenbach, Daniel and Sarah Kamento, Bethany Bussell, Jennifer King, Tanya Ciomek, Leizl Zirkle and Lisa B. Chaffee. Chaffee lost a bid for Hilliard school board in November 2021.

Asked to comment on the district's filing seeking dismissal, Brown on Tuesday told The Dispatch: "We disagree (with the district) and our future filings will express why we disagree." 

The parents are asking the court to issue an order prohibiting teachers from discussing sex and gender with students and to prohibit Hilliard teachers from wearing badges that show their support for LGBTQ+ students.

The complainants also want school staff to notify parents when their child opts at school for a different name or pronouns or has symptoms of gender dysphoria (distress a person has because they feel their gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth).

At least one Hilliard schools parent told The Dispatch he denounces the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs don't represent a majority of the district's families and the district handles issues of sexuality and gender well.

"The implication that children are somehow being indoctrinated is ludicrous," said Tony Sharpe, father of two students in a Hilliard elementary school. "I have not seen – nor have I heard firsthand from any other parent – anything that would indicate the school district had any agenda other than the education and safety of my children."

Previous reporting:Hilliard superintendent responds to parents' federal lawsuit about LGBTQ-related issues

District: plaintiffs can point to no injury to their own children

Philemond points out in the district's motion for dismissal that the plaintiffs are not alleging injury to any of their children.

"Instead, Plaintiffs claim fear of future action, alleging that the District’s teachers are 'activists' encouraged to have 'sexual conversations' with children, making their children 'vulnerable to abuse,'" Philemond said in the filing.

The complaint includes accusations district staff did not immediately inform a family when their teenage child, who was assigned female at birth, chose to identify as a boy and go by a different name at school. 

Brown previously told The Dispatch the parents involved in that incident are not plaintiffs in the complaint, but will likely get added to the complaint or sue the school separately.

The parents' complaint also alleges that badges worn by some teachers offering support for LGBTQ+ students include a QR code that links to inappropriate material.

Hilliard City Schools Superintendent David Stewart previously said it was possible to "click out" from some of those resource websites on the QR code meant only for teachers' access and arrive at objectionable material. According to the district and the teachers' union, no students had access to the code but they decided to cover the code anyway.

Philemond states in the district's filing that the suing parents do not claim their children accessed the QR code or saw inappropriate content.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites