Steve Burns
WMAL.com
FAIRFAX, Va. – (WMAL) The Fairfax County School Board has canceled a work session planned for this week and instead said they need more time before implementing any new regulations surrounding gender identity and protections for transgender students. The work session was originally planned following the cancellation of a vote on the regulations last week.
“We would in a position where I think, there are more questions than answers at this point,” School Board member Elizabeth Schultz told WMAL. “We’re going to wait and see, as we continue to explore what’s happening with the Supreme Court filing, and certainly the 21-state federal lawsuit.”
Schultz referred to a case before the Supreme Court from Gloucester County, Va. in which a school board is appealing an earlier decision forcing them to allow a transgender student to use the boys’ bathroom. She said the Board is also keeping an eye on states that are suing to stop implementation of the Justice Department’s guidelines on non-discrimination.
“This is a very complex matter,” Schultz said. “The public needs to be involved in this. We need to understand the legal implications.”
FCPS Pride President Robert Rigby, also a Latin teacher, said he’s encouraged that the board will still abide by its non-discrimination policy passed in May 2015, but said he has waited long enough for the regulations that enforce that policy.
“We’ve been advocating for several years. Another year’s delay is a hardship,” Rigby told WMAL. “The people who are going to be most disappointed by this are staff and administrators, who I think really need guidance.”
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(Photo: CNN)
