Lawsuit Claims State Employee Was Fired Over School Board Vote on Trans Athletes

A former director at Washington state’s schools agency alleges in a lawsuit that the state superintendent fired her after she voted as a local school board member in support of barring transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports. 

As reported by Washington State Standard, Darby Kaikkonen filed suit last week against the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Superintendent Chris Reykdal in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

“OSPI fired a high-performing employee, a military spouse, for exercising the rights and responsibilities of an elected official in standing up for women and girls, a viewpoint which the state superintendent disagrees with,” Kaikkonen said in a statement that claims Reykdal retaliated against her.

Per the reporting of Washington State Standard's Jake Goldstein-Street, spokesperson for Reykdal’s office confirmed Kaikkonen stopped working there in March, but declined to comment further, citing personnel matters and the litigation. The state hasn’t responded to the allegations in court, as of Wednesday.

Kaikkonen was the schools agency’s director of student information before her termination in mid-March, according to the lawsuit. She had been there since December 2021. 

She also serves as president of the Tumwater school board, where she has been a member since 2019.

The school board vote took place Feb. 27, as the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association was considering two proposals related to trans athletes. One of the proposals would have barred trans girls from participating in girls’ sports. Another would have created a separate division where trans athletes can compete.

Tumwater was also facing a Trump Administration inquiry into its transgender policies.

"Tumwater, south of Olympia, has found itself near the center of the growing tensions between local, state and federal officials over how to handle transgender athletes in school sports," Goldstein-Street wrote. "It’s one of several districts bucking Reykdal’s mandate to support trans students competing in the division that fits their gender identity."

A former competitive swimmer, Kaikkonen said the issue “pits one historically marginalized group against another,” transgender people and women. She said she “fully supports” the transgender community. 

“I see myself in this issue, and most importantly, I see girls who are currently living it and the complexity of what they’re trying to work through,” Kaikkonen said, as reported by Goldstein-Street. “This is an impossible situation. These girls are faced with the same challenges that we all are, and that they can’t possibly stand up for themselves and share their voice and what they think is right without being accused of bigotry.”

“You want to know why the voice for girls is quiet, and why so few people speak publicly about it?” Kaikkonen continued. “It’s fear.”

A petition to recall Kaikkonen and other board members received over 1,500 signatures, Goldstein-Street reported.

A week after the vote, she was placed on administrative leave from her job at the state, with no reason given, according to the lawsuit. Less than two weeks later, she was fired.

“The termination came at a time when OSPI knew the financial and emotional hardship this punitive action would cause,” the lawsuit reads, according to Washington State Standard. “As a result of her termination, Plaintiff has lost an annual salary of approximately $137,000, including valuable health and retirement benefits. She has experienced reputational damage, anxiety, humiliation, and disruption to her family life.”

The lawsuit alleges retaliation and wrongful termination. Kaikkonen, who didn't file for re-election to the school board, seeks monetary damages to be determined at trial.