Tipsheet

ADF President Kristen Waggoner Shines Damning Spotlight on Schools That 'Socially Transition' Kids

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  November 11, 2025 11:30 AM

Kristen Waggoner, the President, CEO, & Chief Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) recently spoke about the widespread efforts of schools to transition kids, often without their parents' knowledge or consent.

"There's a reason that my 17-year-old boy needs to get my consent from the school before he goes even to a pumpkin patch, or takes a pill that's an Advil. And that's because I am the parent and the school recognizes that," she said. "And yet we are willing to disrupt the parental relationship. A school official thinks that it has that kind of authority."

Waggoner continued, "That is not constitutional. And it doesn't serve a compelling interest."

"I have the right to direct my child's education and my child's upbringing," she concluded. Leftists were very mad at Waggoner for saying these common-sense things, but Waggoner responded and brought the receipts.

Waggoner provided four quick facts about her claims:

1. Secret social transitions aren’t just real: they’re required by policy in thousands of schools. Justice Alito recently noted that nearly 6,000 schools are reported to have these policies in place.

2. More than 30 legal cases have been filed on behalf of parents whose children were socially transitioned without their consent. These school policies are being widely implemented and are harming children. 

3. Experts label social transition as a form of medical treatment—and no medical or psychological organization endorses socially transitioning children without parental consent. Even pro-transition experts warn that careful mental health evaluations and parental involvement are important.

4. Social transition often “locks in” a child’s gender distress and leads to medicalization. Studies confirm the vast majority of children experiencing gender dysphoria—including 90% of children before puberty—will desist. Those natural desistance rates collapse in the face of social transition, with more than 90% of children persisting in their dysphoria.

"The bottom line: secret social transitions are all too real, and they’re hurting kids," she wrote on X. "But @ADFLegal is doing everything we can to make them as nonexistent as the gaslighting left wants you to think they are."

Waggoner is right to call this gaslighting. The Left always follows the same playbook on these issues.

First, they'll deny that it's happening. Waggoner already proved that it is. The next step will be the Left admitting it's happening, but not very often. That's followed by admitting it's happening, it's happening a lot, and it's a good thing. The last step is always to say we're bigots for noticing.

Waggoner also shared a story of parents whose school "socially transitioned" their 12-year-old daughter. 

"A school employee sent us an academic with notes from my daughter's past and current teachers. But oddly, some of the teachers' notes talked about a boy," Jennifer Mead said. "Or at least referred to a boy's name and used male pronouns. I assumed this was a mistake."

Mead said she emailed the school to inquire if this was a mistake, only to learn the school was socially transitioning their daughter and hiding it from them.

"We later found out," a tearful Mead continued, "that teachers and staff had been treating our daughter as a boy without our knowledge. They continued to use her real name and accurate pronouns when communicating with us. I was shocked, betrayed, and heartbroken."

After meeting with the principal, Mead said, "He said it was school district and Michigan policy to treat our little girl as a boy without telling us."

The Meads pulled their daughter from school and ADF Legal is helping them sue the district.

And according to Defending Education, there are more than 1,200 districts with similar policies.

It's happening, and it's a violation of parental rights and harmful to students. It must be stopped.