Proposed policy in Virginia school could have 'significant constitutional concerns' warns America First Legal

EXCLUSIVE – America First Legal yesterday sent a letter to the Fairfax County School Board warning of “significant constitutional concerns” and “deeply troubling questions” about proposed changes to a rule which allows students to be suspended for “malicious misgendering” their peers.  

The Fairfax County School Board was scheduled to vote Thursday on proposed changes to the Fairfax County Public Schools Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook, which would increase the punishment for students in grades four through six for “malicious deadnaming” and “malicious misgendering” of classmates. While the school board is still meeting Thursday evening, the vote on the policy has been rescheduled for June 16, 2022. 

The letter, signed by AFL Senior Adviser Ian Prior, reads “Targeting and punishing young children to advance gender ideology reflects a distressing lack of prudence and judgment, and a deep disregard for Fairfax students and parents.”  

“Therefore, we urge you to withdraw the proposed amendments to … the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Should [the Fairfax County School Board] redraft them, it should do so only in strict compliance with the federal and state law, and in a manner that truly advances and respects the interests and legal rights of all FCPS children, their parents, and guardians,” the letter continues. 

FAIRFAX PUBLIC SCHOOLS CONSIDER RULE SUSPENDING STUDENTS FOR ‘MALICIOUS MISGENDERING’

  • Fairfax County Virginia schoool bus Image 1 of 3

    A Fairfax County school bus sits in a depot, a day after it was announced the county would begin the school year all online, in Lorton, Virginia, U.S., July 22, 2020.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

  • Parents protesting in Loudoun County, Virginia Image 2 of 3

    People gather to protest different issues including the board’s handling of a sexual assault that happened in a school bathroom in May, vaccine mandates and critical race theory during a Loudoun County School Board meeting in Ashburn, Virginia. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

  • Parents protesting critical race theory in Loudoun County, Virginia Image 3 of 3

    A woman holds up her sign against Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught during a Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) board meeting in Ashburn, Virginia on October 12, 2021. (Getty)

Prior told Fox News Digital the school board should strongly reconsider the changes to the policy, “because they could be fighting constitutional litigation.”

“We would hope that when they go back to the drawing board, they seriously consider, you know, how this is going to impact those constitutional rights of students and parents and make some significant changes to their proposed amendments,” he added. 

FAIRFAX COUNTY TEACHER LAMENTS LOWERING OF ACADEMIC STANDARDS: ‘THIS HAS BECOME ACCEPTED PRACTICE’

 

Prior believes the rescheduled vote shows the school board is “at least listening to the concerns of parents and the potential liability that we pointed out … in our letter to them.” 

“I think it’s pretty clear from what we’re seeing across the country that education” target=”_blank”>school systems are trying<

The document defines “deadnaming” as “when someone, intentionally or not, refers to a person who is transgender or gender-expansive by a name other than their own chosen name.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fairfax County Public Schools did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment. 

Leave a Reply