A Christian father in Washington state is suing his son’s public school district, alleging officials violated his religious and parental rights after his 10-year-old was taught about gender-transition surgery despite his request to opt the child out of LGBTQ-related instruction.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of Konstantin Averkiev against the Lake Washington School District. The lawsuit alleges district officials violated Averkiev’s First and 14th Amendment rights by refusing to provide notice and allow his son to be excused from lessons and school requirements that conflict with the family’s Christian beliefs.

The dispute began in September 2025, when Averkiev met with his son’s fourth-grade teacher at Henry David Thoreau Elementary School. According to the complaint, he specifically asked for advance notice and an opt-out from lessons involving LGBTQ topics, gender identity or gender transition.

The teacher reportedly agreed. But Averkiev later learned that his son had participated in a Pride Month lesson in June that included a classroom discussion about gender-transition surgery.

According to messages cited in the lawsuit, the teacher acknowledged remembering Averkiev’s request and said he “should have sent the lessons ahead of time.”

The Pride Month presentation, given to fourth- and fifth-grade students, addressed same-sex attraction, transgender identity and the 1969 Stonewall uprising. Averkiev alleges the classroom conversation went beyond the prepared slides, with his son telling him that gender-transition surgery was also discussed.

As his son prepared to enter fifth grade, Averkiev sought broader religious accommodations. With the help of ADF attorneys, he asked the district to excuse his son from LGBTQ-related instruction and other requirements that he believes conflict with his Christian faith, including individual counseling sessions and the use of pronouns contrary to his religious beliefs.

ADF said the district rejected nearly all of those requests, granting opt-outs only for sex-education curriculum and health surveys, which Washington state law already allows parents to decline.

“Parents have the fundamental right to direct their children’s religious upbringing and education, even at school,” ADF senior counsel Kate Anderson said. “Washington state officials can’t force parents like Mr. Averkiev to give up that right or accept a burden on their children’s religious upbringing in exchange for the benefit of public education.”

Averkiev said he believes parents — not public schools — should have the final say over when their young children are introduced to sensitive issues involving sex and gender.

“As a parent, I have a right to decide what my son learns about sex and gender at school,” he said. “He’s ten years old. I don’t want him to learn about gender-change surgery and using false pronouns.”

“I have repeatedly asked to opt my son out of the school district’s LGBTQ instruction. But the district has refused,” Averkiev added. “I am filing this lawsuit, so schools cannot ignore parents like me.”

Lake Washington School District declined to comment on the lawsuit but said it follows “all applicable federal and state laws and guidance from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.”

The federal case will now test Averkiev’s claim that the district’s policies improperly burden his right to direct his son’s religious upbringing while sending him to public school.