NYC Teacher Forced 9-Year-Old Girl to Use Male Pronouns, Triggering Suicidal Thoughts: Costume

A Long Island teacher “forced” a 5th grader to use a male name and pronouns, confusing the girl so much that she had suicidal thoughts, the lawsuit alleges.

Debra Rosenquist, a 5th grade teacher at Terryville Road Elementary School at Port Jefferson Station, began calling 9-year-old Leo and using opposite sex pronouns at the start of the 2021/2022 school year, according to the lawsuit filed in Suffolk County. District Court by the child’s parents last month.

The parents say they only found out about what was happening in January 2022, when the school principal called them and said that their child, named A.V. in court documents, drew a picture of a girl and wrote: “I want to kill myself.” and “I am very sad,” the application reads.

The director also informed the parents that A.V. even met with the school psychologist and told the psychiatrist she was “confused about her gender identity,” court documents say.

Although Rosenquist, 62, had called the student “for months at the time” Leo, it wasn’t until the January 27, 2022 call that parents were first asked if the name was appropriate, the lawsuit says.

The parents were supportive “as long as AV asked for a name change,” the statement said. But they had doubts, since in the past a friend called A.V. Leo – referring to the astrological sign of their child, explained in court documents.

Parents A.V. were also concerned when they saw complaints against Rosenquist on Facebook alleging that the teacher had been accused of violence, but the school district did nothing about it, as she was hired, according to the lawsuit.

Upon further investigation of social media comments, the parents found that Rosenquist did not follow the school curriculum and did not educate her students about transgender people and told the children to “try being gay” or try being the opposite sex, the lawsuit says.

The educator even wrote her own LGBTQ+ book called “I’m Neither” for her 9 and 10-year-old students and nominated a book called “When Aiden Becomes a Brother,” according to the lawsuit.

While the parents weren’t concerned about the topic, they were concerned that it was being taught at too early an age, and were also concerned that Rosenquist had “significantly deviated from the district’s school curriculum,” the lawsuit says.

So one parent met with the Principal, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent on February 3, 2022 where the administrators “admitted that the issue had not been adequately addressed” and said they were unaware of the extracurricular materials. which Rosenquist used, as stated in the documentation.

While they said they had conducted an investigation, “it was clear that the investigation was superficial at best,” the lawsuit says.

Parents accuse the school of negligence of failing to properly supervise Rosenquist’s class and train and supervise staff.

The parents “were incredibly concerned about the welfare of their 9-year-old daughter,” court documents say. “They have supported and will always support AV, but are concerned that Rosenquist convinced AV to be transgender even though she expressed no such intentions.”

The statement states that A.V. was placed in another class, but now he is the object of bullying and alienation.

In fact, some classmates have a group of text messages where they discussed giving up AV with comments including: “Literally, what is she??? Girl?? Boy???” the court document says.

All this test made A.V. suffer “humiliation”, “anxiety”, “emotional pain” and “trauma”. And the family had to pay for psychological treatment and lawyers’ fees.

The family is suing for unspecified damages.

According to family lawyer Debra Wabnick, Rosenquist was expelled from the class but now teaches younger students.

Wabnik told The Post in a statement that Rosenquist “manipulated a teenage girl into changing her gender identity when the child felt no desire to do so.”

“The psychological and social damage caused by Rosenquist to this child and her family was enormous,” Vabnik said. “Incredibly, there is still a Rosenquist in the classroom where she can harm other innocent children in the same way.”

Comsewogue School District Superintendent Jennifer Quinn said they have investigated and taken action in accordance with laws and union agreements.

“The Comsewogue School District promotes a caring environment that is conducive to learning without any behavior that violates our goal of dignity for all students,” Quinn said in a statement Tuesday.

“The health, safety and wellbeing of our students and staff is always the district’s top priority.”

She declined to comment on the status of Rosenquist’s work and declined to comment on the allegations, citing the pending lawsuit and student privacy.

Could not find a work number for Rosenquist.