LYNCHBURG, Va. – At its regular board meeting last week, the Lynchburg City School Board  voted 7-2 against accepting a grant from the LGBTQ-focused nonprofit It Gets Better Project. The Lynchburg News and Advance reported that the $10,000 grant was earmarked to develop a safe-space or “quiet room.”

The E.C. Glass High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) club was awarded the grant back in August as part of the non-profit’s “50 States 50 Grants 5,000 Voices” program, an “initiative to fund projects that support and uplift LGBTQ+ identity in schools across the U.S. and Canada.”

In an interview with Lynchburg’s WSET ABC 13 News, Brittany Harris, co-president of the GSA Club, said that E.C. Glass was the first school in Virginia to be awarded the money from the grant.

“We worked so hard to get this,” Harris said. “We submitted videos and testimonials from our students and how they have conquered so much; it was so surreal to be awarded the grant.”

During the October 24 school board work session meeting, Board Chairman Dr. Atul Gupta and LCS Superintendent Dr. Crytsal Edwards told E.C. Glass principal Daniel Rule to provide more information on it and answer questions about the grant. This was also requested of the student GSA officers.

“Many schools within LCS already have such rooms and they have been shown to promote student self-regulation and are correlated to better student outcomes,” Rule told the board at that meeting.

“The students selected this project due to the high rate of bullying that the LGBTQIA+ community experiences, but the entire school would be welcomed and encouraged to use the room. The budget for the room includes flexible seating, interactive sensory devices, non-intrusive lighting and white noise machines,” Rule added.

During the Nov. 14 meeting the Lynchburg News and Advance reported that five E.C. Glass students and GSA club members told the board why they applied for the grant and why they picked the projects it’s intended to fund.

“Many students, including myself, struggle with mental health. School can be overwhelming just by itself, but a lot has happened in the last three or four years, what with the uncertainty of COVID along with the many lockdowns and how those have affected students,” junior Lindley Crosby said.

“Students have skipped school because they don’t feel safe or they don’t feel supported and these classrooms can be disruptive and chaotic and sometimes it can be too much. We want to provide this safe room so they have somewhere to go and breathe for a second.”

There were points that the meeting became contentious, a grandparent and guardian of an E.C. Glass student, Greg Barry, spoke in opposition to the grant: “Let me be very clear, the LBGTQ agenda in schools is about indoctrination and grooming our children into an evil and wicked lifestyle, all while circumventing the rights and responsibilities of parents,” he said.

Related:

Lynchburg school board rejects grant for LGBTQ+ high school safe space:

By Cal Benn | VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. – The Virginia Beach School Board on Tuesday in a 9-1 vote approved an updated policy for transgender and nonbinary students.

The new policy will require teachers to use pronouns and names that are on official record with exceptions for nicknames commonly associated with the student’s legal name. If a student requests anything else, teachers will be required to report it to the parents. Students must also use bathrooms and participate in sports teams that correspond to their assigned sex. 

This decision was made following more than a year of student walkouts protesting Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students and the formation of Students4Trans. Several parents before the vote came out in support of the policies and voiced their opinions as well to the board.

Board member Jessica Owens is the only one who voted against the policy.

“My sticking point being the issue of not being able to address students in the manner that they would like to be addressed,” she said.

Arlington County Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools and Prince William County Schools are among the Virginia school districts that have refused to implement them.

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Cal Benn, is a journalism major at Emerson College who is in D.C. with the Washington Center, and is a Fall intern at the Washington Blade.

Benn’s work focuses on human rights, climate change and how the two issues intersect. They are also passionate about sustainability, advocacy and writing and enjoy skateboarding and playing with their cats when they are not writing.

Related:

VB School Board adopts revised transgender model policies:

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Students at five Virginia Beach high schools on Friday staged walkouts in support of transgender rights.

The walkout is in response to the Virginia Beach School Board potentially approving policy 5-31, which the Pride Liberation Project says will require schools to out trans students to their parents.

Students have been organizing walkouts across the state since Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin earlier this year announced new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students.

“Students like me aren’t going to be able to talk to our teachers if we’re constantly worried about our school officials calling home to forcibly out us,” AJ, a trans Kellam High School Student, told the Pride Liberation Project.

According to NBC affiliate WAVY 3, the Virginia Beach School Board has delayed a vote on proposed updates on its current non-discrimination policy that in some ways is consistent with Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s model policy, and in other ways, is taken verbatim.

A vote is now expected at the board’s Oct. 10 meeting, WAVY reported.

Dozens of LGBTQ+ students came out to the school board’s meeting and spoke out during public comment. The group was dressed in black to symbolize the deaths of their identities if VBCPS aligns the current non-discrimination policies with Youngkin’s model policy.

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Cal Benn, is a journalism major at Emerson College who is in D.C. with the Washington Center, and is a Fall intern at the Washington Blade.

Benn’s work focuses on human rights, climate change and how the two issues intersect. They are also passionate about sustainability, advocacy and writing and enjoy skateboarding and playing with their cats when they are not writing.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Two parents in Virginia Beach have filed a lawsuit that seeks to force the city’s school district to implement the state’s new guidelines for transgender and nonbinary students.

NBC Washington on Friday reported the conservative-leaning Cooper and Kirk, a D.C.-based law firm, filed the lawsuit in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.

The Virginia Department of Education in July announced the new guidelines for which Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked. Arlington County Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools and Prince William County Schools are among the school districts that have refused to implement them. 

RICHMOND – Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Thursday said school boards must adhere to the state’s new guidelines for transgender and nonbinary students.

Miyares in a letter to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said the guidelines “comply with the Equal Protection Clause, Title IX and the VHRA” (the Virginia Human Rights Act) and “local school boards are required to adopt policies that are consistent with them.”

The Virginia Department of Education last month released the new guidelines.

One section states “schools shall defer to parents to make the best decisions with respect to their children.”

“Parents are in the best position to work with their children and, where appropriate, their children’s health care providers to determine (a) what names, nicknames and/or pronouns, if any, shall be used for their child by teachers and school staff while their child is at school, (b) whether their child engages in any counseling or social transition at school that encourages a gender that differs from their child’s sex, or (c) whether their child expresses a gender that differs with their child’s sex while at school,” it reads.

Another section notes “schools shall keep parents informed about their children’s well-being.”

“To ensure parents are able to make the best decisions with respect to their child, school personnel shall keep parents fully informed about all matters that may be reasonably expected to be important to a parent, including, and without limitation, matters related to their child’s health, and social and psychological development,” it reads. “Parents’ rights are affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court that characterized a parent’s right to raise his or her child as ‘perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this court.’ Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 65 (2000). This requirement is, of course, subject to laws that prohibit disclosure of information to parents in certain circumstances including, for example, Code of Virginia § 22.1-272.1(B) (prohibiting parental contact where student is at imminent risk of suicide related to parental abuse or neglect.)”

The guidelines further state “schools shall serve the needs of all students” and the Virginia Department of Education “is committed to working with school divisions to ensure a positive, safe and nurturing learning environment for all students.” 

“Each student’s individual needs should be taken into consideration by his or her school, and divisions should develop policies that encourage schools to account for these individual needs, with due sensitivity to the needs of other students and the practical requirements of the teaching and learning environment,” reads the guidelines. “Schools should attempt to accommodate students with distinctive needs, including transgender students. A team of appropriate school staff and other caregivers should collaborate with the student’s parents or with an eligible student to identify and implement such reasonable accommodations or modifications (if any), considering the resources and staff available in the school and school divisions, as well as the rights and needs of other students and of school staff.” 

The guidelines further state “single-user bathrooms and facilities should be made available in accessible areas and provided with appropriate signage, indicating accessibility for all students.” 

“To ensure that all students have access to a learning environment in which they feel comfortable and safe, where state or federal law requires schools to permit transgender students to share otherwise sex-segregated facilities (such as bathrooms or locker rooms) with students of the opposite sex, parents should be given the right to opt their child out of using such facilities, and the child should be given access to alternative facilities that promote the child’s privacy and safety,” reads the guidelines. “Eligible students should be given the same right to opt out.”

Arlington County Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools and Prince William County Schools have announced they will not implement the new guidelines. NBC Washington on Thursday reported Miyares’ opinion is “nonbinding.”

FALLS CHURCH, VA. – A group of activists organized by FCPS Pride held a rally and march near Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church, Virginia on Aug. 15 to support transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive youth in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Teachers, students, administrators and activists were joined by elected officials in praising the statement issued earlier in the day by FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid, which assures constituents that the current Fairfax County policies for trans and nonbinary students will remain unchanged.

The Virginia Department of Education issued a model policy that rolls back protections for trans and gender non-conforming students. Advocates warn that the new state policies directly harm trans, nonbinary and gender expansive students.

In response to the state policy announcement, Reid publicly responded in a letter on Aug. 15. “We have concluded our detailed legal review and determined that our current FCPS policies are consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws as required by the new model policies.”

“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,” the statement continues.

Reid announced in the statement that FCPS would retain current county policies: Including that students continue to be addressed by their chosen names and pronouns; provided with access to facilities, activities and trips consistent with their gender identity; and continue to have their privacy respected regarding gender expansive or trans status, legal name, or sex assigned at birth. These Fairfax County policies are in direct opposition to the policies announced by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration.

A group of Fairfax student and teacher activists were joined by Fairfax County School Board members Karl Frisch and Laura Jane Cohen, state Del. Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church), members of faith communities and representatives from the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers union in a rally and march at Luther Jackson Middle School in support of the Fairfax policy announcement.

“This is about making sure that every child can show up in our schools without the weight of the world on their shoulders so they can focus on learning,” Karl Frisch, who is the school board’s vice chair, told the assembled activists. “Protecting them from the weight of the bigotry out there so that they can focus on getting the education that we are offering them in our school buildings.”

The Youngkin administration policies are being debated in districts statewide and have already been adopted by Spotsylvania County Public Schools.

Speaking with the Washington Blade, Frisch elaborated.

“It’s important to stand with our transgender and gender expansive students and their families and our staff,” he said. “Today the superintendent made it clear that FCPS, Fairfax County Public Schools, will continue to abide by federal and state law that requires us, rightly so, to support and protect and affirm our transgender and gender expansive students and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

“They are teaching the rest of the commonwealth a lesson on how to handle a bully.” said Simon, who praised Reid and FCPS. “Because that’s what Glenn Youngkin and his administration are: They are an administration full of bullies who want to take out their frustration and anger and distract us from their own failings by taking on our trans and nonbinary students. The only way to stand up to that is to say, ‘no, we’re not going to do it. Go away. Leave us alone.’ We’re doing it the right way here in Fairfax County.”

FCFT Treasurer Emily Vanderhoff said she has “heard from these families that the parents and their children have been scared about what school is going to look like for their child when they walk in the door on Monday. I know that teachers and other school staff need to know that they want to affirm these students and that they need to know that their district has their back.”

The gathered community activists marched on the sidewalk along Gallows Road carrying signs and chanting support for trans students’ rights following the rally.

At a trans+ students’ rights rally for Fairfax County Public Schools against Gov. @GlennYoungkin policies. Covering for @WashBlade pic.twitter.com/EDoiIREriB

— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) August 15, 2023

ROANOKE, VA. – A long simmering feud between a group of parents who have been pushing for the Botetourt County, Virginia library system to remove books that contain LGBTQ+ materials or themes which they allege are sexually explicit, and the library has taken a new direction.

The county’s Board of Supervisors has previously issued resolutions standing by the library and its current policies but during a board meeting at the end of last month, Mac Scothorn, who took over as the Chair of the Board this past January, proffered a unique solution. Scothorn’s solution however, would make Botetourt Libraries’ visiting policy for young people the most restrictive in the state.

The Chair’s solution to address those resident’s concerns? Prohibit anyone under 18 from visiting the library without adult supervision, the Cardinal News reported.

According to the non-profit news media outlet, Scothorn’s recommendation is another element of a broader intellectual freedom debate that has cropped up several times recently in various parts of Virginia.

At the meeting, Scothorn said he would share his recommendation with the Botetourt County Library Board of Trustees for consideration. There was no formal vote on the item, which was not included on the evening’s agenda, and no board members voiced objection to the proposal.

Library policy currently requires children under 13 to be supervised by adults. Scothorn’s proposal would require adults to supervise anyone under 18. Teens with written permission from their parents would be able to visit independently at age 16 or 17.

During the July 31 Board of Supervisors meeting, a resolution apart form the Board Chair’s proffered solution was unanimously adopted.

The resolution stated that the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors actively supports and defends citizens’ First Amendment rights including:

-The right to read and access information freely and to form their own opinions.

-Defends parental rights to choose content that is suitable for their own families and children, but not to determine what is appropriate for other families and their children.

-Affirms the Botetourt County Library’s existing policies and practices to protect minors by requiring minors under the age of 13 to be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult, and by providing for collection transparency and parental/guardian access and control in minors’ use of library materials, services, resources, and events.

-Supports the Botetourt County Library’s existing policies and procedures guiding the selection and deselection of materials reflecting the needs and interests of the community, without discrimination against or preference for specific individuals, groups, or viewpoints.

-Affirms the Botetourt County Library’s vital role in protecting citizens’ constitutional and parental rights and enabling all citizens to understand and navigate a complex world.

“The Library Board hasn’t endorsed or even discussed any changes to our policies regarding teens in the library,” Marlene Preston, chair of the library board, said in an email to the Cardinal News. “For now, we’re pleased that the Board of Supervisors has formally supported the library and its staff.”

The battle over books on LGBTQ+ themes, and even race relations has become a national issue with conservatives railing against libraries and schools.

A mounting campaign by anti-LGBTQ+ groups such as the Florida-based ‘Moms for Liberty’ to remove or outright ban books written for youth about racial or LGBTQ+ issues has resulted in far-right extremist rhetoric including death threats against librarians nationwide.

A report released by the American Library Association (ALA), covering its annual assessment of books being challenged or banned in the United States showed a dramatic increase.

According to the ALA, nearly 1,600 books in more than 700 libraries and library systems across the nation involving race, gender and the LGBTQ community, were targeted by conservative groups in many cases led by anti-LGBTQ+ groups like the Florida-based ‘Moms for Liberty.’

ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals.

In an article published by The New York Times, the paper reported that as highly visible and politicized book bans have exploded across the country, librarians — accustomed to being seen as dedicated public servants in their communities — have found themselves on the front lines of an acrimonious culture war, with their careers and their personal reputations at risk.

They have been labeled pedophiles on social media, called out by local politicians and reported to law enforcement officials. Some librarians have quit after being harassed online. Others have been fired for refusing to remove books from circulation.

Related:

Librarians caught up in vicious anti-LGBTQ cultural book bans are quitting

FAIRFAX CITY – Fairfax City Council declared June as LGBTQ Pride Month, with a celebration planned at Old Town Hall on Saturday, June 3, to include a drag queen performance. Outside of the event in front of the building roughly two dozen people gathered in protest of the city’s Pride event.

According to the local conservative right publication the Washington Examiner, the protest was coordinated by Stacy Langton, a Fairfax County resident, who gained notoriety for leading a group of parents protesting two controversial LGBTQ-themed books available in high school libraries in September of 2021, that Langton falsely claimed promoted pedophilia. The Fairfax County School Board, and officials with Fairfax County Public Schools announced they had removed the books from the school libraries to reassess their suitability for high school students.

At the time The Washington Blade reported: “I’m not one of those activist moms or disgruntled moms,” Langton stated in an interview with Fox News. “This is not about being anti-gay, anti-trans or whatever. I would have been there and said every single word I said if this had been the depiction of a heterosexual couple with heterosexual acts – pornography is pornography and I don’t care what the gender is,” she told Fox News.

Langton also appeared in several ads for then candidate, now Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, during the 2021 gubernatorial election.

Also appearing at the protest were members of the Southern Poverty Law Center listed hate group, Public Advocate of the United States, and its leader, Eugene Delgaudio.

The Examiner reported that Fairfax Mayor Catherine Read, who was attending the event, told the tabloid that the city is paying for the event. Other sponsors of the event include George Mason University and Fairfax Ace Hardware.

The announcement from the city published online stated:

FAIRFAX PRIDE

Saturday, June 3rd
5PM – 10PM
Old Town Hall
3999 University Dr., Fairfax

The City of Fairfax and Mason are thrilled to host its inaugural “Fairfax Pride” event on June 3^rd, 2023!

While Pride is celebrated 365 days of the year, it’s most recognized during the month of June. Pride Month evolved out of the 1969 Stonewall Riots and has since become a time to reflect and celebrate both the progress and the people of the LGBTQIA+ community.

This collaborative event will kick off In Old Town Hall with informational vendors from both Mason campus and the NOVA area, as well as children’s activities, such as face-painting, Fairy Hair, crafts and more! Later in the evening, a warm welcome will be given by representatives from both the City of Fairfax and Mason, to commemorate this exciting new event. The event will conclude with a dance party featuring several drag queen performances throughout the evening.

All are invited and welcome to attend! 

FAIRFAX CITY, Va. – An assailant armed with a metal baseball-style bat charged into the office of Virginia 11th District U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, (D) Monday morning looking for the congressman and attacked staff sending two to local hospital with non-life threatening injuries according to the Fairfax City Police.

In a press release, Fairfax Police identified the suspect as 49-year-old Xuan Kha Tran Pham, a Fairfax County resident. Investigators told local media outlets that one of the victims was an intern who was on her first day on the job, the other a senior aide who was hit in her head with the metal bat. Pham also damaged parts of the office on the first floor of an office building at at 10680 Main Street by breaking glass and shattering computers.

#PressRelease

Malicious Wounding Arrest@CityofFairfaxVA pic.twitter.com/jwCAXfszoV

— Fairfax City Police (@FairfaxCityPD) May 15, 2023

 

On Monday afternoon, Connolly released the following statement:

“This morning, an individual entered my District Office armed with a baseball bat and asked for me before committing an act of violence against two members of my staff. The individual is in police custody and both members of my team were transferred to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Right now, our focus is on ensuring they are receiving the care they need. We are incredibly thankful to the City of Fairfax Police Department and emergency medical professionals for their quick response.

“I have the best team in Congress. My District Office staff make themselves available to constituents and members of the public every day. The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff’s accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable and devastating.”

NBC News has reported that Pham filed a lawsuit against the CIA last year in which he claimed the agency had been “wrongfully imprisoning [him] in a lower perspective based on physics,” and alleging that he is being “brutally tortured… from the fourth dimension.”

The complaint, which seeks $29 million in damages, aligns with the beliefs of conspiracy theorists who claim they are being “gangstalked,” or secretly watched and psychologically tortured using nonexistent technology.

Rep. Connolly is a long term ally of the LGBTQ+ community in suburban Fairfax County, Virginia where he has previously served as the Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

He is an original cosponsor of the Equality Act and was one of the voices in opposition to the ban by former President Trump on the military service by transgender Americans. The Human Rights Campaign has recognized Congressman Connolly commitment to LGBTQ+ Americans as an ally with a 100% rating for a sixth consecutive term.

Virginia congressman’s office staff attacked by bat-wielding suspect:

ORANGE, Va. – The Orange County, Va., Board of Supervisors last week released its proposed fiscal year 2024 budget that removes $9,000 in funding it approved last year for the nonprofit Arts Center In Orange in response to plans by the center to host a design class taught by a local drag performer.

According to Equality Virginia, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, members of the Board of Supervisors “have specifically tied the revocation of funding to this planned event,” an action that Equality Virginia calls “harmful and insidious” and that follows attacks on drag shows and drag performers surfacing in many other states.

“Earlier this year, the same Board also voted to revoke a $4,500 matching grant from the Arts Center, which was allocated and approved in the prior year’s budget,” Equality Virginia says in an April 5 statement. “Both of these actions happened after the Arts Center planned an event with a local drag performer who was scheduled to teach a class on makeup, costuming and hairstyling,” the statement says.

News media outlets in the Orange County area have reported that the Arts Center in Orange “indefinitely” postponed the class by the drag performer after opposition by county board members and others first surfaced in January. Nick Morrow, a spokesperson for Equality Virginia, said the Board of Supervisors continued efforts to defund the Arts Center even though the “drag” class has never taken place.  

In an April 4 story, the Orange County Review reports that it obtained an email dated Jan. 18 in which Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Johnson expressed agreement with a constituent who requested that the county revoke its funding of the Arts Center because the planned class was to be taught by the drag performer.

The newspaper quoted the individual who wrote to Johnson asking that the funds be revoked as telling Johnson the revocation was needed to “protect children from adults who prey on them with sexually explicit agendas.” The newspaper reported, “Johnson said that he agreed with the individual’s comments and outlined the board’s plans to defund the center through the county’s budget process.”

The Orange County Review also reports that the Orange County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget at its April 18 meeting and a vote on the proposed budget was scheduled to take place one week later on April 25. 

“As politicians across the country attack drag performers and drag shows, purposely spreading disinformation about what drag actually is, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is hopping on the political bandwagon,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman in the group’s statement.

“It’s disappointing and sad,” Rahaman said. “Drag is not inherently harmful. Drag is not inherently insidious. But yanking funding and suppressing programming because it doesn’t align with their narrow worldview is both harmful and insidious,” she said. “The Board should be ashamed of itself.”

When asked about the board’s decision to revoke funding for the Arts Center in Orange, Board of  Supervisors Chair Johnson told the Orange County Review that the board has never attempted to tell any of the groups it funds how they should spend the funds they receive from the county.

But Johnson added, “as with any discretionary spending, the Board can choose to increase, decrease, or eliminate funding to any specific entity.”

The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine whether an official with Equality Virginia or representatives of other LGBTQ organizations or activists planned to speak at the April 18 public hearing before the Orange County Board of Supervisors in support of reinstating funding for the Arts Center.

Orange County is located about 30 miles west of Fredericksburg, Va. and about 15 miles south of Culpeper.