The Epoch Times
written by Jackson Elliott
Sunday January 1, 2023
When a 13-year-old girl said she was actually a boy, teachers at her Maine school allegedly started using male pronouns for her and a counselor gave her a breast binder to wear to create the appearance of a flatter chest.
No one told her mother.
Amber Lavigne said she discovered the device in her daughter’s bedroom. It was then that the child disclosed that a social worker at the Great Salt Bay Community School had given it to her and that the teachers changed the name and pronouns she used at school, Lavigne told her community’s school board members during a public meeting on Dec. 14, 2022.
The youngster was told to keep it a secret from her parents, which caused her increasing “stress, anxiety, and depression,” Lavigne told the school board of the Central Lincoln County School System (CLCSS) AOS 93. The district serves seven rural communities in midcoast Maine.
“Utilizing these devices can cause serious side effects,” the Newcastle mother told board members.
Studies suggest that breast binders can cause back pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, skin problems, and rib fractures.
When Lavigne expressed concern to school officials for “this heinous act, they expressed grave concern,” she told board members.
Her daughter had turned 13 just a month before.
“She’s a minor child—my minor child!” the mother said, fighting tears throughout her three-minute opportunity to speak at the meeting. “And under no circumstances should she have been provided a chest binder without the knowledge of the parents.”
The school won’t release notes from meetings between the social worker and the child, Lavigne told board members.
“[A worker] at the school encouraged a student to keep a secret from their parents!” Lavigne said. “This is the very definition of child predatory sexual grooming. Predators work to gain a victim’s trust by driving a wedge between them and their parents.”
With a quavering voice, Lavigne demanded that all employees with “knowledge of the secret” be immediately terminated from their positions and that her child’s records be released.
“Laws, policies, and parental trust were broken,” she said, adding that a wedge had been driven between the child and her parents.
“Consider for a moment if this was your child. What would you do? No other parent should have to go through the trauma and distress that this has caused my family.”
Maine parental rights advocate Shawn McBreairty posted the video of Lavigne’s speech to Rumble.
Since the meeting, Lavigne told The Epoch Times by text message that she plans to file a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission. Lavigne and her lawyer declined to speak further with The Epoch Times, citing plans to file a lawsuit.
School board members and officials at the Great Salt Bay Community School, CLCSS AOS 93, didn’t respond by press time to requests by The Epoch Times for comment.
Secret Counsel
The social worker who worked with Lavigne’s child is Sam Roy, Lavigne told The Epoch Times. Roy is a graduate student with a conditional state license to practice social work. In 2016, he served as a public relations officer for the “Wilde Stein: Queer Straight Alliance,” a University of Maine LGBT group.
Lavigne has filed a formal complaint against Roy with Maine’s Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation, according to an email from the agency confirming receipt of Lavigne’s allegations.
Roy wasn’t alone in his efforts to coach her daughter’s secret transition to living as a boy at school, Lavigne said. Other school officials also took part, she alleged, by hiding from her the child’s use of male pronouns at school.
After Lavigne’s story went public, the Great Salt Bay Community School removed its staff directory from its website, according to the Wayback Machine internet archive.
The school also posted a statement on its website, saying some individuals had spread “rumors and allegations” online to “try and divide our community.” The statement never said what issue it addressed.
The Great Salt Bay Community School Board’s statement also claimed it made decisions based on Maine law, but never specified what these decisions were.
“When administrators receive concerns from parents and/or students about potential issues in school, the Board has specific policies and procedures in place that must be followed when addressing those concerns. Those policies comply with Maine law, which protects the right of all students and staff, regardless of gender/gender identity, to have equal access to education, the supports and services available in our public schools, and the student’s right to privacy regardless of age,” the statement reads.
Maine lawmakers are now considering a state educational rule that would allow social workers and school counselors to keep secrets about children from parents.
Chapter 117 of Maine’s Department of Education guidelines would make conversations between school counseling staff and children confidential. Chapter 117 isn’t yet law.
In a November 2022 interview with The Epoch Times, parental rights activist Alvin Lui predicted that Maine could soon allow social workers to provide breast binders to students without parental consent.
What Lavigne says happened to her daughter shows how gender activists can influence children, Lui said. They may lie to parents to get children to commit to permanent body alteration. They may urge pronouns, then binders, then hormones, then surgery, he said.
“All they’re trying to do is to put you off as long as they can, so that it can move your child through the train,” Lui said.
McBreairty promoted a fundraiser for Lavigne’s case on Twitter. The GiveSendGo account has raised $1,241 of the $2,000 goal “to help Amber and her family with her initial legal retainer,” he told his audience on Twitter.
In another post, McBreairty noted that six of Maine’s most influential news outlets didn’t cover the school’s attempt to transition the child without the mother’s knowledge.
That’s how “you know the sexual grooming is real,” he said.
In a written interview with The Epoch Times, McBreairty said he expects Maine’s government to draw out Lavigne’s case to make it expensive.
“If Ms. Lavigne and her legal team decide on what legal grounds they could sue the school, I would think, in a morally sound and legitimate legal system, they would easily win,” he wrote.
‘Irreparably Broken’ Schools
The case could be a turning point for the United States, as parents realize public schools are “irreparably broken,” McBreairty said. He touts school choice as a solution.
America’s public schools now want to “separate the minor child from their parents,” he said. If students go there, they run the risk of getting indoctrinated into radical gender beliefs, he warned. He said parents must either “fight like hell” to recapture schools or remove their children before it’s too late.
What happened to Lavigne’s daughter could easily happen elsewhere in the state, he said.
Licensed clinical social worker Christopher McLaughlin was elected to a three-year term that began in July 2022 to serve on the Hermon School Committee in Maine. He has publicly said he won’t warn parents about children questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation. He added that even if a child might be in danger because of the behavior they exhibit in their new gender identity, he would never tell their parents.
McLaughlin also works as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maine in Orono and at Husson University in Bangor, Maine.
“It is not ever my role, regardless of where I am practicing, to out that kid to their parent, even if there are safety issues present,” McLaughlin said in a Zoom meeting that McBreairty uploaded to Rumble.
McLaughlin leads the Maine chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
“If it can happen in little Damariscotta, Maine, a town of some 2,500, where the school board is dominated by Democrats, it can happen anywhere,” McBreairty wrote to The Epoch Times. “When will you take your children’s education as seriously as their lives?”
I feel it's very important that people understand that trans ideology shows all the signs of a cult. The Left and and Republican globalist have had a field day calling Trump supporters and American Patriots a cult. That can't be so because we are free to question everything and anyone in the Make American Great Again movement. We can leave and quit supporting Trump or America anytime we want. We can think for ourselves. We want to debate / discuss / challenge ideas and policies. Unlike the impressionable vulnerable children the psycho Left are grooming. Once the psycho Left have successfully converted a child into thinking they were born into the wrong body, THAT CHILD CAN NEVER question their decision or question the psychos pushing this gender confusion on them for that matter or decide not to go through with the gender change. The worst part is separating the vulnerable child from their parents and family and close friends. The psycho Left ISOLATES THE CHILD for grooming purposes just like a CHILD PREDATOR DOES. Because that is what and who they are... CHILD PREDATORS. (emphasis mine)
[source: WhatChristiansWantToKnow.com]
What is a Cult?
The definition of a cult varies, depending upon the source. Some describe a cult as a new religious movement, a group having bizarre or abnormal activities, a set of unusual rites or rituals, and consist of members that may live in a highly unconventional way. Cults are certainly not always religious. Some are anti-religious, some are satanic, and others offer communal living and a sharing of resources. The cult’s location can often be secretive, very isolated, and private with no access for the general public.
Separation From Family and Friends
One sure sign of someone being involved in a cult is that there is a clear separation from family and friends. There are secretive meetings and few things are known about the proceedings. When a friend, spouse, child or a relative is being distant or quite about the group that they are involved in and when there is a real or perceived tendency of separation from you, something may be wrong. There is a tendency to be defiant if there are any questions asked. For example if you ask a question about what they did in the group that night and they get defensive, are vague in answering you, or they say nothing at all, then they might be protecting the group from some questionable practices or activities.
There is also a resistance to questioning the leader. The leader seems to be right no matter how uncomfortable their actions are. If the leader of the group is questioned by someone outside of the group, then the member gets angry and highly defensive. They have no tolerance for anyone asking too many probing questions about the group’s activities, agendas or about the group leader. The group’s leader may be beyond reproach in their eyes.
The members of the group may also become increasing isolated from family and friends. The frequency of attending the group meetings may increase dramatically and the amount of secrecy about the meetings becomes obvious. There is a lack of trust for anyone outside of the group as well. The groups may urge the member to distance themselves from or actually leave their families and friends. The group becomes a “secret society” in a sense and all outside influences are screened or restricted.
Group Rules, Policies or Traditions Override Everything
When there are particular group policies and the group follow the procedures, even to the point of breaking a civil or moral law, they become a law setting group to themselves. Some members may begin to question civil laws, that civic justice is not being carried out or that certain moral or biblical principles do not seem to be sufficiently enforced in society or do not go far enough. Their own traditions, rules, or rituals may be thought of as more important than established civil laws and personal accountability. Any attempt to inquire about the group’s financial records or practices is treated as strictly confidential.
Authoritarian or Totalitarian Leadership
When there is the tendency to have one person be in charge of everything and everyone and that the leader has absolute and total control, this is a strong indication that this may be a cult. Most social and civic groups lean toward democratic principles and decisions are made by the group as a whole, but when there is only one person in charge and their actions or decisions can not even be questioned, then this group is at the mercy of only one person and the power of being that one person in that totalitarian position tends to corrupt them. The saying that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is very true in cultic groups. This corruption of power tends to reveal duplicity and have ethical double standards. The leader may be able to do certain things but its members are never allowed to make such decisions or to do the same things.
Growth and Fundraising
A strong indication of a cult is one where the members are heavily invested financially. Their primary goal is to recruit new members and to raise funds through various activities, even if it is in a grey area or illegal. The group might also begin to offer certain services that are usually available at businesses. For example, the group or club might begin to offer their own meals, their own haircuts or their own line of clothing and they will tend to discourage the members from spending money outside of the group.
Cultist Beliefs
Cults often have a very apocalyptic outlook on the world. They have a sense of dread about society and the way society lives and where it is headed. They can begin to make arrangements for being in isolation in the event that the world collapses and this group would be the only safe harbor at the time. There is usually a very charismatic leader and there is social encapsulation due to an abnormal paranoia about events in the world. Cults are often very prejudiced against a particular group of people like certain races, religions, political parties, and any one that is not part of their group.
Rick Ross of the Rick Ross Institute (www.rickross.com) is an expert consultant on cults and has studied them profusely over the years. Mr. Ross indicated that according to Margaret Singer, PhD, “Potentially unsafe groups or leaders come off very nice at first. They go for vulnerable people who are looking for answers, lonely, what you’d call ‘normal people.’ They’re very good at what they do and can get people to believe anything. You might think you’d never get taken in, but don’t bet on it.” [1]
The Jim Jones Guyana mass-suicide may seem like an extreme example of a cult but cults are often a law to themselves. They set their own laws as being above civil laws of the state and even the federal government. Former members that often relate their experiences are disparaged by the group and are often persecuted after they leave. It might be hard to get into a cult, but it can be even more difficult to get out of one because the group may believe that they are going to expose them to the public and the press. A great number of former members of cults are often harassed and often threatened with physical harm to them or their family and in a few cases, even death. Some of the swearing in ceremonies makes it fearful for any current member to even consider leaving or reporting abuse to anyone outside of the cult.
They plan to kidnap their children!
— Americat 🇺🇸 (@catmurphy209) November 12, 2022
Proposed Maine law could remove children from parents who don't go along with gender ideology.https://t.co/nZR0ZPJGNO
The Post Millennial
written by Hannah Nightingale
Friday November 11, 2022
The Maine Department of Education (MDOE) is considering the addition of a new chapter to its rules regarding the duties of school counselors and social workers, one that could see these staff members assisting children in gender transitions without informing the parents of their child.
Chapter 117 is currently being considered by the MDOE, with the deadline for public comments being November 14.
Most notably, the proposed rule includes a section regarding "privileged communication," stating that school counselors and social workers "may not be required… to divulge or release information gathered during a counseling relation with a client or with the parent, guardian or a person or agency having legal custody of a minor client."
"A counseling relation and the information resulting from it shall be kept confidential consistent with the professional obligations of the counselor or social worker," the proposed rule continued.
The chapter, entitled "Rules Regarding the Duties of School Counselors and School Social Workers," establishes standards for the duties that these staff members should carry out.
The section states that exemptions from keeping privileged communications from parents must be in line 20-A MRSA §4008(3), which provides exemptions in cases where the child is a "clear and imminent danger to [themselves] or others," and "the client’s condition requires others to assume responsibility or the client."
Exemptions must be provided also under Title 22, Chapter 1071 of Maine’s statutes, entitled the Child and Family Services and Child Protection Act.
This Maine law describes that a child may be removed from their parents if a court finds "that remaining in the home is contrary to the welfare of the child."
Guidance counselors and social workers are listed as people required to report when a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect.
"Abuse and neglect" of a child is defined under this law as a "threat to a child's health or welfare by physical, mental or emotional injury or impairment, sexual abuse or exploitation," and includes "aggravating factors" like "any other treatment that is heinous or abhorrent to society."
Under the proposed rule, the duties of school counselors are listed as providing a "comprehensive school counseling program," "academic guidance," "prevention and intervention supports," "professional development and support," "leadership team and or clinical team member," "mental and behavioral health supports," and "family and community engagement."
The list of duties states that it is "not exhaustive," and that it "Should not be limiting to the position."
It also states that 80 percent of their time should be spent providing "indirect and direct services on behalf of students."
In regards to school social workers, the proposed rule states, "Clinical school social workers are trained mental health professionals who can assist with mental health concerns, behavioral concerns, positive behavioral support, academic, and classroom support, consultation with teachers, parents, and administrators as well as provide mental health treatment and individual, group and family therapy."
"School social workers are instrumental in furthering the mission of the schools to provide a safe, equitable setting for teaching, learning, and for the attainment of competence and confidence," it continues.
Overarching duties of social workers include student case management and family and community engagement for non-clinical social workers, and mental health evaluations and treatment and crisis assessment, planning, and intervention for clinical social workers.
The rule also lists the scope of work that can be conducted by state licensure.
For non-clinical social workers as a licensed social worker (LSW), this work includes "Engag[ing] in psychosocial evaluation, excluding the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, and conduct basic data gathering of records and specific life issues of individuals, groups and families, assess this data and formulate and implement a plan to achieve specific goals related to specific life issues," "Serve as an advocate for clients or groups of clients for the purpose of achieving specific goals relating to specific life issues," and "Refer clients to other professional services."
For licensed clinical social workers (LCSW), their work includes "Practice social work in a clinical setting without consultation," "Engage in psychosocial evaluation, including diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and emotional disorders," "Engage in clinical private practice of social work."
Like school counselors, at least 80 percent of a social worker’s time must be spect providing services on behalf of students.
Courage is a Habit, an organization that creates "actionable tools & strategies for parents to defend their child from indoctrination in K-12," warned in a recent video ad that this proposed rule could lead to social workers and counselors removing children from their homes if parents don’t affirm their new gender identities.
Warning of secret transitions implemented by school staff, the organization’s video states, "If you dare object to this, you lose your kids."
They noted in a press release that an open public comments section was held on the morning of October 24, 2022, while most parents would be at work.
"The only ones to attend were activists continuing to spread their agenda and how important they are...and of course the usual 'suicide emotional blackmail.' They create the problem and sell their solution," the press release states.
"Chapter 117 takes advantage of a law passed in Maine in 1989 that gives school counselors with a Master’s degree'privileged communication' so they did not have to share information with parents. But back then there were very few, if any, school counselors with a Master’s degree. They were the guidance counselors we all grew up with. If “client privilege” were invoked it was reserved for real abuse. More important, up until about 2014, school counselors were not activists and recruiters for the gender and sex ideology," it continued.
"Today Maine K-12 is plagued with activist school counselors and social workers that continually re-defined the word 'safe' and 'abuse'; if parents do not agree with the gender social contagion, then the parents are 'abusive' and the child is not 'safe'. This is how they are setting the foundation to separate children from their parents."
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