Washington father sues school district over denied religious opt-out from LGBT instruction

In a federal case Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed Sept. 8, a Christian father alleges that his son’s elementary school, which lies east of Seattle, failed to honor his request that the 10-year-old be excused from instruction that conflicted with his religious beliefs about human sexuality and that the school district later rejected most of his renewed requests, violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

ADF filed Averkiev v. Lake Washington School District on behalf of Konstantin Averkiev in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, naming the district, Superintendent Jon Holmen, and the five members of the district school board. Averkiev seeks injunctive and declaratory relief, as well as damages.

“Parents have the fundamental right to direct their children’s religious upbringing and education, even at school,” ADF Senior Counsel Kate Anderson said in announcing the lawsuit. 

She said parents retain the right to direct their children’s religious upbringing in public schools and argued that the state cannot condition access to public education on accepting instruction that burdens those beliefs.

“Our Constitution forbids schools from indoctrinating children with the government’s views on sexuality and gender—hotly debated and sensitive topics—that substantially undermine their religious upbringing,” Anderson said.

According to the complaint, Averkiev met with his son’s fourth-grade teacher at Henry David Thoreau Elementary School in September 2025 and requested advance notice and an opt-out before lessons involving LGBT topics, gender identity, or gender transition. Averkiev says the request was based on his Christian beliefs and that the teacher agreed to provide notice.

In June 2026, however, Averkiev says his son told him that his class had received a Pride Month lesson that included discussion of “gender change” surgery. Averkiev alleges that he received no advance notice and no opportunity to opt his son out.

The complaint says the teacher later acknowledged remembering Averkiev’s request and said he should have provided the materials in advance. According to the lawsuit, the Pride Month presentation the teacher, Warren Petchalonis, sent to Averkiev addressed same-sex attraction, “gender identity,” the Stonewall Uprising, and bullying.

Averkiev then contacted the school principal, Heidi Gilmore, and requested records related to the lesson, an explanation of what happened, and assurances that his religious opt-out would be honored in the future. According to the complaint, the principal did not respond.

On July 27, ADF attorneys sent a formal letter to the principal and district superintendent seeking broader accommodations for Averkiev’s son as he entered fifth grade.

The letter requested that the student be excused from LGBT-related curricula, assemblies, presentations, extracurricular activities, and other instruction. Averkiev also asked that school employees not initiate individual conversations or counseling with his son about LGBT topics; not change his son’s name or pronouns or otherwise socially transition him without parental permission; not require him to use pronouns that Averkiev considers inconsistent with biological sex; and not require him to share restrooms, locker rooms, or overnight accommodations with students of the opposite sex.

The letter also requested advance notice, access to instructional materials, and an alternative assignment or placement whenever one of the disputed subjects arose.

According to the complaint, the district responded on Aug. 5 by granting opt-outs for sex-education instruction and certain surveys, as required under Washington law, while rejecting most of Averkiev’s other requests.

The lawsuit says the district described portions of his broader request as “not feasible,” “practically impossible,” and even “prohibited by state law.”

According to the complaint, the district maintained that Washington law contains no general provision allowing parents to opt children out whenever such topics arise during ordinary instruction. The lawsuit also says the district would not agree to prevent individual conversations about the topics, including during counseling sessions, or broadly excuse Averkiev’s son from district rules governing pronouns and shared facilities.

“The District denied Mr. Averkiev’s request to opt out his son from shared intimate spaces with a student of the opposite sex—including overnight accommodations,” the complaint said. “The only caveat was restrooms, but even then the District promised only to ‘discuss’ an alternative.”

ADF argues that Mahmoud v. Taylor and Mirabelli v. Bonta support Averkiev’s claim that the district must accommodate his religious objections when school instruction or policies burden his ability to direct his son’s religious upbringing.

The district court has not ruled on the merits of Averkiev’s claims.