Livermore Joint Unified School District suspends student for stating transgender student “used to be a girl”

On February 13, 2024, Sean Kullman reported in an article on Substack that a student at Livermore Joint Unified School District was accused of bullying and suspended because he said that a transgender student “used to be a girl.” Kullman explained:

A friend with whom John was having a conversation asked, why does Jane look like that? John responded quite simply by saying, “He used to be a girl.” This comment was overheard by another student, and the student reported it to Vice Principal [redacted] on November 7th via email sometime after school hours, according to John’s parents.

The transgender student was biologically female but “decided to start using male pronouns and identifying as male.” The student accused of bullying, who is identified under the pseudonym John, is 14 years old and had known the transgender student “since early childhood.” The school accused John of “bullying” and “creating an unsafe environment.” The school also accused John of not demonstrating “PRIDE.” Kullman reported:

The school suspended John, waiting two days before contacting John’s mother about the investigation into the occurrence, letting her know the day of the suspension that her son was waiting at the school because he was suspended for “today” and to “pick him up.”

In a document that Kullman shared, the school provided the following reason for John’s suspension: “Intentionally engaged in harassments, threats, or intimidation directed against school district personnel or pupils, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to have the actual and reasonably expected effect of materially disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder, and invading the rights of either school personnel or pupils by creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment.”

John’s parents also explained that he “was told he was being suspended before being provided an opportunity to speak or before providing his written statement.” The original incident occurred on November 7, 2023, but John was not suspended until November 9. His parents did not receive a copy of the suspension notice until November 16 and did not receive his witness statement until February 2.