Parental Rights

rules an Arizona appellate court, rejecting defendants' claims that the case was moot, and wasn't timely filed.

Eugene Volokh | 1.6.2026 8:01 AM

From Walden v. Mesa Unified School Dist. #4, decided last Tuesday by Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Michael J. Brown, joined by Judges Anni Hill Foster and Paul J. McMurdie:

The Guidelines {for Support of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students} [created by MPS, Mesa Public Schools] outline how to "provide support" to "a student [who is] transgender or gender nonconforming and consistently asserts at school a gender identity that is different from the student's sex assigned at birth." The version of the Guidelines in place during the 2022–23 school year included definitions of relevant terms and explanations of district policies addressing discrimination, harassment, privacy, and how to update a student's name or gender in the electronic student information system ("Synergy"). MPS also maintained two forms designed to be completed with the student—a checklist and a support plan—detailing how school staff could best address a particular student's needs.

The 2022–23 support plan included the following notice: "Parents/guardians will be notified if the student requests changes to Synergy." Absent a request for a name or gender change in Synergy, the support plan does not require parental notification that a student has completed a support plan. Emphasizing students' right to privacy, the support plan mandates that "[s]chool staff shall not disclose information that may reveal a student's transgender status or gender nonconforming presentation to others except as set forth on this form." Students could mark whether their gender identity could be shared with various groups, including "[s]chool leadership/administration," "[t]eachers and/or other school staff," or "[o]pen to all adults and peers." As of the filing of the Complaint, "MPS still uses the support plan at all schools." …

In October 2022, Doe learned that her child, a biological female named Megan (a pseudonym) was using the name Michael (a pseudonym) at the child's junior high school. In November, Doe contacted a teacher to ask about her child's name. Initially, the teacher declined to answer and directed Doe to speak with the principal but later confirmed that Megan "was known as Michael to all teachers and students at the school."

Doe attended a meeting with the school principal on December 5, 2022, which Doe describes in part as follows:

[T]he principal confirmed that the school knew that Megan used "Michael" as her chosen name and that the school allowed and encouraged this. The principal further informed [Doe] that the reason for the name change was Megan's uncertainty about her sexual and gender identity, that Megan had asked that she go by the name of "Michael" at school, and that this request had been conveyed to all of Megan's teachers….

The principal told [Doe] that when a student went by a nickname or other name different from her given name, MPS's student information system allowed the school to input the student's preferred name into [Synergy]. The principal........

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