A Christian parent filed a federal religious liberty lawsuit against a Washington state school district on Tuesday, alleging that the district refused to excuse his elementary school child from classroom instruction that conflicted with the family’s faith.
Konstantin Averkiev, whose son attends Henry David Thoreau Elementary School in Kirkland, sued the Lake Washington School District, its superintendent and five school board members in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
“While Lake Washington School District has not been formally notified of the litigation, we are aware of the matter,” Shannon Parthemer, executive director of communications for the district, told JNS.
The complaint, filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, alleges violations of Averkiev’s First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion and his 14th Amendment parental and due process rights.
He claims that his son’s fourth-grade teacher agreed in September 2025 to provide notice and an opt-out from LGBT-related lessons. The father learned in June that his son had attended a Pride Month lesson that allegedly included a discussion of gender-changing surgery, according to the suit.
“Although we cannot comment on the lawsuit, the district has reviewed the lesson in question,” Parthemer told JNS. “The lesson 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 told JNS that the district “affirms the rights of parents and students” and supports “parents’ authority under Washington state law to opt their children out of sexual health curriculum and surveys.”
Under state law, families may opt out of “comprehensive sexual health education,” not out of learning about particular identities or groups of people. “We remain committed to ensuring that every student can learn in a safe and welcoming environment,” Parthemer said.
Kate Anderson, senior counsel and director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights, stated that parents “have the fundamental right to direct their children’s religious upbringing and education, even at school.”
Noel Sterett, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, rejected the district’s claim that the lesson “was just about ‘empathy’ and ‘bullying prevention.’”
“The slides tell a different story,” Sterett told JNS. “They present the government’s view on sex and gender identity as normative and disagreement as oppression. That message only serves to isolate and stigmatize children whose families hold what the Supreme Court has recognized as ‘decent and honorable’ beliefs about such topics.”
“The district points to state law as if it were the ceiling on parental rights,” he added. “It is the floor. The Constitution guarantees parents the right to opt their children out of any instruction that undermines their child’s religious upbringing. That right applies regardless of whether the school labels a Pride Month lesson as ‘sex education.’”
Sterett told JNS that Averkiev “is not asking for anything radical.”
“He is asking for what the Constitution guarantees every parent,” he said. “The right to know what his child is being taught on these sensitive topics, and the freedom to direct his son’s education and religious upbringing. Schools can’t exclude religious children or their parents in the name of ‘inclusion.’”
Averkiev is seeking an injunction requiring notice and religious opt-outs, as well as declaratory relief, damages and legal fees.
