A federal lawsuit has been filed against the Lake Washington School District in Washington state on behalf of a father who claims his 10-year-old son was taught about gender surgery during a Pride Month lesson despite the father's prior request to be notified and excused from LGBTQ-related instruction.
The lawsuit, filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), alleges that the school district violated the father's First and 14th Amendment rights by refusing to provide notice and allow his son to opt out of lessons that conflict with his religious beliefs. The father, Konstantin Averkiev, had previously met with his son's teacher at Henry David Thoreau Elementary School in September 2025 and requested advance notice and an opt-out from lessons involving LGBTQ topics, gender identity or gender transition.
According to the complaint, the teacher agreed to provide notice, but Averkiev's son was taught a lesson in June that allegedly included a discussion of gender-change surgery. The teacher later acknowledged that he should have sent the lesson ahead of time, but the school district ultimately rejected nearly all of Averkiev's broader opt-out requests as his son prepared to enter fifth grade.
The Pride Month presentation, taught to fourth and fifth-grade students, described same-sex attraction, transgender identity and the Stonewall uprising, a series of protests from people who identified as LGBTQ+ against a police raid on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village.
Averkiev's son told him that the class had discussed gender-change surgery, which the father argues he would not have known was coming even if the school had provided him the presentation in advance. With his son starting fifth grade, Averkiev asked the district to excuse his son from LGBTQ-related instruction and requirements, including individual counseling sessions and the use of pronouns that conflict with his religious beliefs.
The school district has declined to comment on the lawsuit, but stated that it follows "all applicable federal and state laws and guidance from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction."
NTC Report coverage is based on reporting from the original publisher.
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