Washington Father Sues School District Over Denied Religious Opt-Out Requests
Konstantin Averkiev, a Christian father in Kirkland, Washington, filed a federal lawsuit on September 9 against the Lake Washington School District, alleging administrators denied his repeated requests to exempt his son, now a fifth grader, from LGBTQ related lessons, pronoun requirements, and individual counseling sessions on religious grounds. The complaint says the dispute intensified after Averkiev's son sat through a Pride Month lesson in June that included discussion of gender change surgery, content Averkiev says he had specifically asked to be excluded from. He first requested an opt out in September 2025, and his son's teacher initially agreed, but the district later denied nearly all of his subsequent requests.
Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing Averkiev, argues the district's denials violate his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to direct his child's religious upbringing and education. ADF senior counsel Kate Anderson said parents have the fundamental right to direct their children's religious upbringing and education, even at school. The district had not filed a public response to the lawsuit as of this writing.
