Florida parents' appeal in child’s gender transition case turned down. Here's what happened

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In a rare loss for the state of Florida and its vigorous efforts to bolster parental rights, a federal appeals court declined to reconsider a decision supporting the Leon County school system after a young student asked to express a different gender identity and school officials refused to discuss their plans with the students' parents.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 17 denied a request by January and Jeffrey Littlejohn for the full appeals court to hear the dispute. A panel of the Atlanta-based court, in a 2-1 decision, ruled in favor of the school system in March.

This was despite a concentrated effort by multiple conservative and parents’ rights groups from across the country and by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Republican leaders in 19 other states, who filed a friend-of-the court brief in April calling for the court to hear arguments in the case, describing the panel ruling as “disastrous for parents everywhere.”

The case has drawn national attention as the battle over parents' rights vs. school curriculums and child autonomy have raged across the country and was often referenced by Gov. Ron DeSantis as one of the reasons for the creation of Florida's 2022 Parental Rights in Education Bill, often derided by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.

In March, January Littlejohn was a special guest of first lady Melania Trump for President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C., where Trump applauded her for being a "courageous advocate" for parental rights fighting against what he called "child abuse."

"Stories like this are why I signed an executive order banning public schools from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology," Trump said as he introduced Littlejohn more than an hour into his national address.

Here's what to know.

Fact check: Trump's January Littlejohn story about ‘secret’ gender transition needs context

Why did January and Jeffrey Littlejohn sue Leon County Schools?

In 2020, before the start of the new school year at Deerlake Middle School in Tallahassee, the Littlejohns’ 13-year-old child asked to socially transition at school with a male name, "J," and they and them pronouns, court records show.

January Littlejohn told the child's teacher that they did not allow the child to use a different name or pronouns at home, although they permitted "J" as a nickname at school.

According to emails obtained by The Tallahassee Democrat, Littlejohn told the teacher that although they hadn't changed what they call the child at home, "If she wants to go by the name (redacted) with her teachers, I won’t stop her." When the teacher asked if they could share the info with other teachers, Littlejohn replied, "Whatever you think is best or (redacted) can handle it herself."

In a later email the same day, she said "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."

The child confirmed to a school counselor a desire for the changes. The school counselor and other school staff met with the child to create a Student Support Plan. The Littlejohns were not notified because the child did not expressly request their presence, which was required at the time.

The school district's LGBTQ+ guide in use in 2020 instructed staff not to notify parents if a child's behavior led them to believe the child was LGBTQ+, saying "Outing a student, especially to parents, can be very dangerous to the student's health and well-being. Some students are not able to be out at home because their parents are unaccepting of LGBTQ+ people out."

Two months later, after the school repeatedly refused to disclose the details of the Student Support Plan per law, the Littlejohns sued the Leon County School Board, Superintendent Rocky Hanna, and Robin Oliveri, the assistant principal at Deerlake.

They did not dispute the legality of the LGBTQ+ guide, but alleged that the school officials violated the Littlejohns’ rights by excluding them from conversations about their child's gender identity, especially since the parents brought the topic up with the child's teacher in the first place.

The lawsuit asked for damages and for the district to change its LGBTQ+ guide.

Littlejohns' case inspires Florida's Parents Rights in Education Bill

The case came as conservative activists and politicians were working to eliminate what DeSantis refers to as "woke ideology" in schools. Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education Act (HB 1557), which (among other things):

• Prohibits teachers from mentioning gender identity and sexual orientation in school lessons through the third grade, later extended through grade 12. This was later expanded through the 12th grade with an exemption for sexual education or health lessons, which parents can opt their children out of.
• Bans undefined discussions that aren't "age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” in the remaining grades
• Allows any parent to sue a school district over objectionable curriculums, with the district paying the bill

DeSantis frequently mentioned the Littlejohns' case when discussing the need for the bill, which was one of several new laws targeting LGBTQ+ expression in Florida schools and gender-affirming care for minors.

Another, HB 1069, strictly defined "sex" based on two biological roles, blocked the use of pronouns that do not correspond with an "immutable biological trait," and banned teachers from asking for pronouns or telling students their own if they “do not correspond to his or her sex."

January Littlejohn, a stay-at-home mom, a licensed mental health counselor and a parents' advocate, has become a regular speaker for Moms for Liberty events and other parental rights organizations. She was standing next to Uthmeier in April when he announced the state's new Office of Parental Rights dedicated “to empower parents and protect children.”

Why did a federal judge rule against January and Jeffrey Littlejohn?

In January 2023, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker of the Northern District of Florida dismissed the lawsuit, saying the claims were moot since the school acted in accordance with its LGBTQ+ guide, which was later changed in the summer of 2022 to include parental notification. He suggested a state court, not a federal one, was the best venue.

The Littlejohns appealed, and in March 2025 a divided federal appeals court ruled against them, saying the school officials' actions did not "shock the conscience." That's a legal test under court precedents for cases that involve a challenge to government executive actions.

“The child was not physically harmed, much less permanently so,” Judge Robin Rosenbaum wrote in the main opinion. “Defendants did not remove the Littlejohns’ child from their custody. And defendants did not force the child to attend a Student Support Plan meeting, to not invite the Littlejohns to that meeting, or to socially transition at school.

“In fact, defendants did not force the Littlejohns’ child to do anything at all. And perhaps most importantly, defendants did not act with intent to injure,” she added.

“To the contrary, they sought to help the child. Under these circumstances, even if the Littlejohns felt that defendants’ efforts to help their child were misguided or wrong, the mere fact that the school officials acted contrary to the Littlejohns’ wishes does not mean that their conduct ‘shocks the conscience’ in a constitutional sense.”

The Littlejohns kept trying. On July 17, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request for the full court to reconsider the earlier decision.

What is Florida law about students who wish to socially transition?

Under the different Florida laws on schools, children are allowed to socially transition and use whatever name or pronoun they like among their peers. However, parents or guardians must be informed this is happening.

Teachers and school staff may not use any pronouns for a child that do not correspond with the child's 'immutable biological trait" at birth. They also may not refer to a child by anything other than the child's legal name without the express permission from a parent or guardian.

Teachers and school staff also may not ask any student to provide a preferred pronoun or offer their “preferredpersonal title or pronouns if such personal title or pronouns do not correspond to that person’s sex."

Contributing: Ana Goñi-Lessan, Tallahassee Democrat; News Service of Florida