A North Carolina father is suing his children’s school district after officials refused to tell him whether biological males are permitted to use the same bathrooms and locker rooms as his fourth-grade daughter.
Brandon Matthews filed suit Friday against the Cabarrus County school board, the superintendent, and the principals of Mount Pleasant Elementary School and Mount Pleasant High School, where his children attend.
“Brandon Matthews does not currently know whether a male is using his fourth grade daughter’s bathroom. And does he have a constitutional right to know that? We say ‘yes.’ Without that information, he’s just in the dark and…He really can’t make any good decisions without that information.”
Matthews has a daughter in fourth grade at Mount Pleasant Elementary and a son who is a high school senior at Mount Pleasant High. In May, he asked both principals a straightforward question: Are members of the opposite biological sex allowed to use the same facilities as his children?
Both principals refused to answer.
Instead, they told Matthews he could contact them “if and when” one of his children found themselves in an uncomfortable situation, according to the court filing.
The lawsuit argues the Constitution doesn’t require Matthews to wait for a problem to occur before protecting his children.
“Because of his sincerely held religious beliefs and his convictions about what is best for his children’s safety and well-being, Mr. Matthews seeks to ensure that his children are not required or expected to undress or use the restroom in the presence of members of the opposite sex,” the court document states.
When Matthews pressed for answers, Mount Pleasant Elementary principal Alyn Szymański responded on June 8th, saying that because “matters involving individual students are confidential,” the school “cannot confirm, disclose, or provide advance notice regarding the status, identity, or accommodations of any particular student.”
The other principal reportedly gave a similar response.
Matthews’ legal team argues he’s not asking the school to identify any specific student. He simply wants to know whether his children may be expected to share bathrooms or locker rooms with members of the opposite sex.
Brandon Matthews, a North Carolina father, is taking his children’s school district to court after officials allegedly declined to answer whether biological males can access the bathrooms used by his daughter.
His lawsuit seeks information about the district’s policies and… pic.twitter.com/PZkm6KAf7D
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The lawsuit cites the 2025 Supreme Court ruling Mahmoud v. Taylor, in which the Court found that schools must inform parents and give them an opportunity to excuse their children from instruction involving “LGBTQ+-inclusive” storybooks when it conflicts with their religious beliefs.
“If the Constitution requires notice and an opportunity to opt out before exposing children to certain storybooks, it necessarily protects a parent’s right to receive notice and an opportunity to protect his children before they are expected or required to undress or use the restroom in the presence of members of the opposite sex,” the suit argues.
Matthews alleges the school district violated his constitutional rights under the First and 14th Amendments. He is being represented by the America First Legal Foundation and co-counsel Philip Thomas.
Nicholas Barry, senior counsel at the America First Legal Foundation, told Fox News that Matthews has a constitutional right to the information the schools are withholding.
The America First Legal Foundation is also involved in another lawsuit against Cabarrus County Schools, which alleges that female students at Cox Mill High School were required to share locker rooms, restrooms and changing spaces with a biological male.
