One might look back on middle school as a time of increasing social awkwardness, basic learning in things like algebra and chemistry, and all the other tropes out there for young teens having to show up at the schoolhouse for most of the year. Unpleasant at the time, perhaps, but better than adulthood when viewed through rose-tinted glasses.

Not so in California, where a mother just had to fight a legal battle against her school district when she found out it had secretly started transitioning her 11-year-old daughter, with teachers trying to “socially transition” her with male pronouns and permitting her to use the boy’s bathroom.

All that happened without the knowledge, much less the consent, of Jessica Konen, the mother. So she took Spreckels Union School District to court over what the teachers at Buena Vista Middle School tried to do to her young daughter.

The Center for American Liberty, which helped the Konens in court, described that horrific behavior from the teachers, saying, “This was the experience of Jessica Konen. Her daughter, Alicia, was recruited to join an “Equality Club,” where she was taught about bisexuality, transgender identities, and other LGBT concepts in just the sixth grade.  Shortly after joining the club, the school began to foster Alicia’s identification as a boy, giving her articles on how to conceal her supposed new gender identity from her mother and giving her a “Gender Support Plan” that required school staff to refer to her by a male name and male pronouns and to let her use the unisex teachers’ restroom instead of the girl’s restroom—all without even informing Jessica what it was doing.“

Somewhat surprisingly for super-blue California, Konen won. In fact, she won big in the courtroom, walking away from her legal battle with the insane school district with $100,000 in winnings. But, still, the cost she had to pay to get there – almost losing her daughter to the teachers that tried to trans her – was an immense one, and now she’s speaking up so that other parents aren’t afraid to fight back too.

One way she encourage parents to resist was by appearing in a videa alongside her daughter. In the video, they explained what happened and called on parents to fight back, saying, “Hi, everyone. I’m Jessica Konen and I’m Alesia and as you know, we’ve been battling this for quite a while now. But we have great news. We settled our case. We are now receiving justice from the school that decided to try to transition my daughter behind my back. This is so wrong and this settlement right here proves in the public eye. Parents, please be bold. Stand up for your children and fight for them. Fight for your rights. Thank you to the Center for American Liberty for all of your help, and thank you for believing in me. We let our voices be known and we are so glad we did. Thank you.”

Watch them here:

Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video