Fairfax County Public Schools responded to the Youngkin administration's model policies on students claiming to identify as transgender by vowing to maintain their use of "preferred pronouns" and allowing children to use the restrooms of the opposite sex.
In a Tuesday message to FCPS families, superintendent Michelle Reid said the district believes, after a "detailed legal review," its current policies are "consistent" with the new policies aimed at limiting school buy-in on claims of child transgender identity.
BIDEN HEADS TO WISCONSIN NECK AND NECK WITH TRUMP
Reid's message states that "gender expansive and transgender students" will be able to maintain their "chosen names and pronouns" as well as have access to facilities, activities, and trips "consistent with their gender identity."
Parents Defending Education, however, said the Fairfax policy defies Youngkin.
"Per usual, leadership at FCPS is more concerned with appeasing liberal activists than they are in ensuring ALL students feel safe in schools and on-campus facilities," Parents Defending Education senior advisor Michele Exner said in a press release. "The FCPS position potentially forces girls to share their locker rooms, sport fields, and even lodging on field trips with biological males. This is insanity and parents should not stand for it."
The Virginia Department of Education does allow parents to tell FCPS to use a "preferred pronoun" and "chosen name" for their child if they wish.
FCPS says its move is enabled by federal and state anti-discrimination laws, but does not cite the federal law to which it refers.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The new model policies were finalized earlier in the summer and are required to be implemented at each of the Commonwealth's 133 public school districts.
At the time, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) said, "The Department of Education has delivered policies that empower parents, prohibit discrimination, create a safe and vibrant learning environment by addressing bullying incidents immediately, and protect the privacy and dignity of all students through bathroom policies, athletic procedures, and student identification measures."