The ADF’s lawsuit alleges that the district violated Averkiev’s First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process.
In a statement, Shannon Parthemer, executive director of communications for the school district, said that the lessons the father objected to “focused on empathy, inclusion, bullying prevention, and school belonging.”
“Students examined school-climate data, considered the effects of biased remarks and bullying, and reflected on actions that can help all students, including LGBTQ+ students, feel safer and more connected at school,” Parthemer’s statement said.
“Lake Washington School District affirms the rights of parents and students. We support parents’ authority under Washington state law to opt their children out of sexual health curriculum and surveys, and we remain committed to ensuring that every student can learn in a safe and welcoming environment,” her statement concluded.
The statement didn’t mention the lawsuit’s details or its connection to the Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which said schools must allow religious parents to opt their students out of classes containing LGBTQ+ content.
ADF, which has been certified as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has successfully represented numerous anti-LGBTQ+ cases at the Supreme Court, with the court’s conservative majority consistently voting in its favor.
ADF’s recent religious rights victories at the Court include the following:
- Mahmoud v. Taylor, a 2025 decision that ruled that schools must allow religious parents to opt their students out of classes containing LGBTQ+ content.
- 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a 2023 decision that ruled that Colorado can’t enforce its anti-discrimination law against a Christian web designer.
- Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, a 2022 decision that ruled that the school district violated a football coach’s First Amendment rights by preventing him from praying on the field after games.
- Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a 2022 decision that ruled that pregnant individuals have no constitutional right to receive an abortion. The ruling has endangered the lives of pregnant people seeking reproductive healthcare.
- Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a 2018 decision that Colorado’s commission didn’t act with the required religious neutrality when evaluating a baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding.
- Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a 2014 decision that religious corporations don’t have to follow a federal law requiring them to provide contraception coverage to employees.
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
