A Palisades couple has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District and its superintendent, alleging that a district policy that kept them in the dark about their child’s gender identity helped set the stage for the teen’s suicide in March 2024. The complaint names LAUSD and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and seeks unspecified damages, arguing that the district’s approach damaged the parent-child relationship and shut the family out of major decisions about their child’s life at school.
According to the New York Post, the plaintiffs, identified there as Kathleen Mulligan and Andrew Parke, say school staff never discussed with them that their child had begun using the name Aria on campus. The report describes a lawsuit that accuses school employees of following a secrecy practice that kept parents unaware of key changes in the student’s school records and gender-related supports.
The legal claim lands in the middle of a statewide courtroom fight over so-called parental notification and secrecy rules in California. In December 2025, a federal judge in San Diego issued a closely watched ruling that limited school policies preventing employees from telling parents if a child identifies as a different gender, as reported by Education Week.
Federal officials have been weighing in as well. In a January 28, 2026, press release, the U.S. Department of Education said the California Department of Education’s policies and guidance created “powerful state-directed pressure” that led some districts to withhold records related to students’ gender support plans in ways that may violate FERPA, the federal student-privacy law.
The LA lawsuit also arrives while the district is under separate federal scrutiny. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho is on paid administrative leave after FBI agents executed search warrants at his home and at LAUSD headquarters in late February 2026, according to the Los Angeles Times. Those raids and Carvalho’s leave have drawn additional public attention to how the district operates, including its policies and contracts.
The New York Post report adds further detail, saying the parents allege their child first told school staff in 2019 that they wanted to use she/her pronouns and the name Aria. The student later appeared in a 2022 graduation program under that name, according to the article. Their attorney is quoted as saying the secrecy policy “excluded parents from consequential decisions about transitioning their child.” The complaint names district officials and seeks damages tied to the family’s claims.
Legal arguments and what’s at stake
The parents’ lawsuit appears to lean on a mix of constitutional parental-rights arguments and the recent patchwork of rulings and federal guidance around student privacy. As Education Week has noted, courts are now being asked to decide whether state and local rules that limit parental notification clash with federal rights and with free-speech protections for school employees.
What comes next
The case is expected to move through the courts as part of a broader, ongoing legal battle over AB 1955 and so-called secrecy policies, unfolding against the backdrop of the U.S. Department of Education’s finding that some California practices risk federal noncompliance. Recent court rulings and the department’s recommendations give plaintiffs more established legal footing to point to, while state officials have appealed some of those orders, setting up a lengthy legal grind.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for 24/7 confidential support.
