As the new school year takes off, so do liberal school districts’ efforts to undermine parents as the primary caretaker and educator of their children.
Students in Fairfax County,
Virginia
, for example, were greeted in the first few days of classes with a
survey
from school officials that included questions about their preferred gender identity and pronouns. This survey flies directly in the face of new education guidance from Gov.
Glenn Youngkin
(R-VA) which prohibits schools from concealing information from parents about their children’s well-being.
But that is exactly the school district’s intention. Fairfax Superintendent Michelle Reid has publicly vowed not to adhere to the guidance, which also requires students to participate in the athletic program and use the restroom, locker room, or other facility that corresponds with their sex. She told families in a letter this month that Fairfax schools will continue to use students’ preferred pronouns and names and allow them to use facilities and participate in activities “consistent with their gender identity,” regardless of parental consent.
“We have concluded our detailed legal review and determined that our current Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) policies are consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws as required by the new model policies,” Reid wrote. “Let me be clear that FCPS remains committed to fostering a safe, supportive, welcoming, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff, including our transgender and gender expansive students and staff.”
This is a willful violation of state policy and must be treated as such. Fairfax officials claim they have the right to flout Youngkin’s guidance because it supposedly conflicts with federal laws, such as Title IX. But this isn’t true. Not only does Youngkin’s guidance explicitly instruct school boards to comply with federal law where it might require a departure from the guidance’s default rule, but it also leaves little need for such departures.
Indeed, Virginia’s policies are rooted in both historical and legal precedent. A parent’s right to dictate the upbringing of their children, for example, is a “fundamental right,” according to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Likewise, the guidance’s definition of sex as a person’s “biological sex” is consistent with the court’s interpretations of sex-based laws. Democrats have tried to argue otherwise by citing the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision, but they ignore the fact that Bostock’s interpretation of “gender identity” was narrowly and deliberately limited to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects employees from discrimination. Bostock did not confer a right to schools to open up intimate facilities and competitive activities to students’ chosen “gender identities.”
Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares have informed Fairfax schools that they are required to comply with the guidance. In an exclusive statement to the Washington Examiner, Youngkin said, “Liberals continue to try to come between parents and their children. Despite their attempts, we’ve made it clear in Virginia that children belong to parents, not bureaucrats, the state, or school divisions.”
But verbal warnings will only go so far, and Fairfax’s resistance thus far suggests stronger enforcement will be necessary. A spokesperson for Miyares’s office told the Washington Examiner that school boards out of compliance with state policy are liable to legal action from parents. “Our office will be monitoring all litigation and will be prepared to participate where doing so is appropriate and parents have valid claims,” the spokesperson said. When asked whether the state plans to take legal action of its own or wait for parents to make the first move, Miyares’s office did not respond.
We have been vocal in our support for Youngkin’s administration and the gumption he has displayed in standing up for parents and against the radical ideologues who seek to turn classrooms into activist training grounds. And we are willing to posit that the Youngkin administration’s reluctance to pledge immediate action is grounded in legal reasoning. However, it is not parents’ responsibility to enforce the state’s policies — that job lies solely with the men and women elected to represent them as officers of the state.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
We also cannot help but point out that leftist officials never hesitate to use the power of the state to enforce their agenda when the roles are reversed. Just this week in California, the state took a conservative school district to court after district officials passed a policy requiring educators to inform parents if their student asks to use a name or facility that does not correspond with their sex. Democrats don’t waste time, and parents are suffering for it.
Unlike California, Youngkin not only has legal precedent and common sense on his side, but he also has the backing of families across the state. Parents made it clear when they elected him that they want an advocate — someone who respects the role they play in their children’s lives and is willing to defend it. Youngkin’s education guidance does both, but only so long as he enforces it.
