John Matthews
WMAL.com

MANASSAS — (WMAL) After a long, long night of public comment, school officials in Prince William County opted early Thursday to put off a decision on banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity until the end of the current school year.

The School Board had been set to vote on a policy which would have added protection for transgendered individuals to the current policy that bans discrimination based on race, sex and religion.

However, after more than five hours of input from members of the general public, the board ultimately decided to shelve the matter by a vote of 5 – 1, with one abstention. The only member to vote in favor of moving ahead with the policy at this time was the board member who wrote the policy, Chairman Ryan Sawyers.

Though several residents spoke out in favor of the non-discrimination policy, far more citizens opposed the legislation, with many claiming the proposal lacked specific language to outline how the ban would be implemented. Many others argued the ban would violate the privacy rights of students in bathrooms and locker rooms.

Proponents of the policy argued that change is needed now in order to give schools a tool to protect vulnerable students against bullying, but in the end, the majority of school board members felt it was more prudent to wait until the legal system – presumably the U.S. Supreme Court – made a ruling on the matter.

Several other jurisdictions in Virginia, including Fairfax and Arlington Counties, as well as the cities of Alexandria, Virginia Beach and Charlottesville, already have-non-discrimination policies in place that protect transgendered students, though a challenge to the Fairfax policy is now pending before the Virginia Supreme Court.

Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Prince William Co. School Board)