This is a story about a student who asked their school for one thing: to be called by a name and pronouns that felt like them.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland said yes. Staff began using the student's chosen masculine name and pronouns at the start of the school year, exactly as the student requested, under a district policy that gives every student the right to be addressed in a way that matches their gender identity.

Then came the lawsuit.

The student's parents, represented by America First Legal, a national organization founded by Stephen Miller, a Trump advisor, have filed suit to force teachers to misgender their child and to have Anne Arundel's trans-inclusive policies declared entirely illegal. They want a federal judge to override what a student asked for and what a school district chose to honor.

LGBTQ+ health organizations, including The Trevor Project, have documented that trans students who are supported at school show significantly better mental health outcomes. Forcing a student back into a name and identity they rejected isn't neutral. It causes real harm.

Anne Arundel County's policy is simple: every student deserves to be seen for who they are. That policy is now under attack from a well-funded national organization that has made targeting LGBTQ+ students in schools central to its agenda. Fifteen states already require schools to out trans and nonbinary students to their parents. This lawsuit is part of the same campaign.

This shouldn't be settled by outside political groups in a federal courtroom. It should be decided by school communities who know and care for their students.

Sign to defend Anne Arundel County Schools' right to respect every student, and to stand with trans students who simply asked to be seen.