A high school senior in Fairfax County, Virginia, has filed a lawsuit against her school district over its policies that allow students who say they’re “transgender” to use restrooms and other facilities that align with their “gender identity.”
The lawsuit was filed on the student’s behalf by America First Legal, a conservative nonprofit. In the complaint, the student explained that the school district’s policies go against her Catholic beliefs (The Daily Signal):
Fairfax County Public Schools, for example, first adopted Regulation 2603 in October 2020 that allows students to use the bathroom or locker room “consistent with the student’s gender identity” and requires that students refer to trans-identifying students “by their chosen name and pronoun, regardless of the name and gender recorded in the student’s permanent pupil record.” (The policy was updated in April 2022.)
Abiding by these regulations, the student told America First Legal, “forces her to lie.” As such, the lawsuit specifically emphasized the schooll district’s discrimination “against female students on the basis of sex and religion and violated their free-speech rights under the Virginia Constitution.”
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The lawsuit also described the regulation as “dystopian” because it “requires students to adhere to a woke agenda that denies reality.”
In a statement to The Washington Post, Fairfax County Public Schools spokeswoman Julie Allen said, “FCPS remains committed to fostering a safe, supportive, welcoming, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff.”
“Any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy in using a bathroom or locker room, regardless of the underlying reason, is provided with reasonable accommodations, including access to single user facilities,” Allen added.
Townhall has covered previously how FCPS has defied policies put in place by GOP Gov. Glen Youngkin regarding transgender students. In one instance, the school district announced that “transgender and gender expansive” students will be addressed by their chosen name and preferred pronouns, will be allowed to participate in activities, school trips and access facilities that align with their gender identity instead of their biological sex, and will continue to “have their privacy” regarding their “gender expansive or transgender status” after Youngkin’s administration issued guidance requiring students to use restrooms, sports teams, and participate in other activities aligning with their biological sex.
Before this, it was revealed that Fairfax County was requiring teachers to complete a training program that said that parental consent would not be required for transgender students who want to “socially transition” at school.
"They [school officials] think that parents have no right to know what your child is discussing with their teacher or their counselor, particularly when some of the most important topics, most important topics that a child may want to discuss are being determined," Youngkin said at a rally about the school district.