Fairfax County Public Schools students turned a planned rally into a celebration after receiving news that the school system had rejected Virginia’s new model policies that roll back protections for transgender students.
The school system, the largest in the state, made the announcement by email on Tuesday.
Students, parents, advocates and allies marched down Gallows Road outside school system headquarters after learning that FCPS had decided to stick with its current policy toward transgender and non-binary students, rather than adopt Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s "Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools,” which were announced in July. The latter outlines policies related to pronouns, names, parent notification, sports, bathrooms and locker rooms.
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In particular, they cheered the decision to reject the policies directing students to use school facilities that match their biological sex and making it harder for them to change their name or pronouns at school.
"It was a relief. I know so many people still in FCPS who would've been impacted by these policies, tons and tons. It was honestly a relief when I saw the email," Ranger Balleisen, of the Pride Liberation Project, said.
Virginia Del. Marcus Simon, whose district includes Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County, explained the legal mechanism that gives Virginia’s school districts choice in the matter.
"They include language that said that localities will adopt policies based on these model policies, but they could certainly go further to provide a more protective environment for transgender students, a more inclusive environment for non-binary folks," he said.
Advocacy groups throughout the state have been making their concerns known to school boards and superintendents in advance of the start of school. Tuesday’s rally and march had been planned before the decision by Fairfax County Public Schools.
"This is such a great feeling for us today--and I say us meaning myself and my student, my 15-year-old who's an FCPS student who's transgender--and again, he expressed a feeling of not being able to exist as himself when these policies came out,” parent Christina McCormick said.
The school district joins Arlington County Schools in choosing not to follow the Virginia Board of Education’s Model Policies on Transgender and Non-Binary Students.
