A divided Eleventh Circuit panel upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit Wednesday, ruling 2-1 that school officials didn’t violate parents’ rights by crafting a gender support plan for their 13-year-old without their consent.
January and Jeffrey Littlejohn sued the Leon County, Florida, School Board after administrators met with their child—who sought to use a male name and they/them pronouns—and developed the plan, despite the parents’ objections.
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Judge Robin Rosenbaum’s majority opinion held that the officials’ executive actions didn’t “shock the conscience” under substantive due process standards, affirming the district court’s 2022 dismissal.
“Even if the Littlejohns felt the efforts were misguided, that doesn’t make them unconstitutional,” she wrote.
But the 169-page ruling ignited a judicial showdown.
Judge Kevin Newsom concurred, blasting the “comically vacuous” shocks-the-conscience test as too lenient on executive overreach and urging the Supreme Court to ditch substantive due process entirely. “Enough is enough,” he declared.
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Judge Gerald Tjoflat dissented, arguing the Littlejohns deserved a trial and accusing the majority of overextending a loose standard, sidelining legislative authority.
Rosenbaum defended the doctrine in a 75-page concurrence, insisting it mirrors other constitutional analyses when “applied properly.”
The case, spotlighted by President Trump in his recent congressional address pushing anti-trans policies, saw January Littlejohn alongside First Lady Melania Trump.
The Child and Parental Rights Campaign, representing the family, decried the ruling as a blow to parental rights, hinting at further appeals. The school board stayed silent as the debate over gender, schools, and constitutional limits rages on.
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